Asteria
by scottiegal2012
Summary: Admiral Janeway has sent the Enterprise into Romulan space to investigate the slaughter of the entire Romulan Senate and three cadets know it. They approach this teacher looking to help out, but Starfleet Intel knows more than Janeway, and they need her.
1. Part 1: A Bold Request

Author's note: My ficlet Teach, Teacher, for the Alpha Quadrant series I've begun appealed to me more than I planned. So I'm running with the professor idea. I hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: There are many characters I am developing and introducing to this story, those are all that belong to me oh and my ship, I command her: the USS _Asteria _named for the Greek goddess of nocturnal oracles falling stars_._ All others I recruited from Paramount, The Roddenburry estate, and various entities like Braga, Berman, and Taylor.

Characters: K. Janeway, Cadets Va'Ler, Andrew Starlin, Phoebe McKeith, Commander Gardner and a brief appearance by one of Voyager's beloved.

Summary: This tale takes place during the crisis on Romulus after the Remans killed everyone on the Senate floor. Three cadets want to help and they go to the only Professor they think may listen, Admiral Kathryn Janeway.

Rating: T to be safe. Could get bloody out there on the Neutral Zone

**Part One**

The sun was setting over Starfleet Academy Campus, golden rays kissing sleek metal roofs and bathing the gardens in a special glow becoming of a September eve. Kathryn stood in it for a moment, just outside of the Main building's entrance. She decided she was going to walk the half mile to her apartment in the city rather than bother the busy transporter techs who were working to get students off-campus and back to student housing.

"Admiral Janeway!" A voice echoed across the common grounds between them as the pretty half-Vulcan girl waved her over.

Kathryn smiled and shouldered the bag of PADDs she was holding before crossing to the small group of students. "Va'Ler, Andrew…" She tipped her head to the third, decidedly NOT one of her new students.

"Phoebe." She answered softly.

Kathryn smiled brightly at her. "That's my little sister's name." She looked back at the other two. "You all are here late."

"We were hoping to discuss something with you Admiral, had we known you'd be in this long, I think we would have waited until tomorrow." Andrew sighed and flopped down on the bench behind him.

Va'Ler shook her head disapprovingly at her classmate who leapt back to his feet. "We would have waited all night if necessary." She turned back to Kathryn. "Admiral Janeway, we are… concerned… about the trouble in the Romulan Sector and along the Neutral Zone, however, though it is all not classified, no one will answer our questions."

Kathryn dropped an arm to her side. "You know full well I can't discuss any of it with you because of my position on the board."

Andrew chimed in. "We know you ordered the Enterprise there."

Kathryn tilted her head again staring at the lazy cadet she was sure would end up dropping out. "Enlighten me, Mr. Starlin."

He sighed, realizing that may have not been for public consumption. "I have a friend on the Enterprise, or rather my dad does. Rumors spread from the bridge pretty quick, and when you're name is mentioned, well it sparks conversation."

"I see." She began walking, more wandering, through the garden paths toward the main walks through to Downtown San Diego.

"Wait, Admiral." It's was matter of fact, and less of a request than it should have been.

Never the less, Kathryn stopped and waited for Va'Ler to catch up. "Cadet?"

"Admiral, you may not be able to answer our questions, but I believe myself and Phoebe O'Keith to be capable if we could serve in some way."

"What about me?" Andrew protested running up to Kathryn's side and staring down the Vulcan.

"Andrew, you're not capable of making it through class." Va'Ler remarked in her dry way.

Kathryn quickly dismissed the grin threatening her stoic features, what was occurring on Romulus was serious and these cadets knew it. "None of you have the experience to serve as crewmen on a vessel, but perhaps we can find some use for you at Headquarters."

"Headquarters?" Andrew was whining. "We want to be out there, where the action is!"

"That's enough." Kathryn knew firm well. She was beyond firm in the Delta Quadrant, especially when it came to the junior officers serving under her, cadets she could handle without a problem.

Andrew was silent immediately and slipped back to stand near Phoebe.

"Admiral, wherever we can be utilized would be acceptable. We understand our experience is still lacking." Va'Ler nodded her head slightly, accepting Kathryn's unspoken orders to leave it at that.

"Get some rest, try and get to class early tomorrow and I'll see what we can do." Kathryn left the three standing silently at the garden's edge as she vanished around a city block.

She knew Va'Ler was bent on helping, there was no getting around it, but Andrew was caught up in hype. She wasn't sure he could handle delivering PADDs, let alone anything more difficult. She sighed as she stared at the second floor window in the building in front of her. She was exhausted. Between two of her classes she had been in meetings on the Romulan problem and the situation on Remus as reported by Captain Picard upon their arrival. Following class, she had gathered with Tuvok and another Vulcan professor who were also privy to the Remus intelligence report. Now she faced a decision, go home and get some much needed rest, or go straight to Headquarters. She sighed again and dropped her head, rubbing her eyes with her free hand. "Headquarters it is." She spoke out loud to herself.

She pushed open the old fashioned double glass doors to the side entrance and slipped inside. She was always amazed at how busy Heaquarters at Starfleet Command was even at 8:30 at night. Officers and civilians alike bustled around in the quaint lobby. Her target was deeper inside Command. She approached the locked doors and keyed her code in.

"Enter voice authorization."

"Admiral Kathryn Janeway, Alpha Two Ceti."

The computer laser scanned her retina to confirm. "Please step through the doors, Admiral Kathryn Janeway."

She resisted thanking the computer and laughed to herself. Protocol was somewhat new to her, but it served it's purpose. She stepped through and they whisked shut behind her.

Admiral Owen Paris was leaning on an assistant's desk, talking to him in hushed tones. He lifted his head as she came in.

"Kathryn? You were wiped out last time I saw you, I would have bet on you being out cold already."

"I wish." She mumbled, dropping her bag onto a shelf where various oddities were scattered about. "Admiral Paris, I have two cadets in my class who've heard more than they should have about the situation in Romulan space."

"Oh?" He pushed the manual entry sequence to his office door and stepped aside, letting her in before him. He continued once the doors had shut. "From where?"

"The Enterprise, apparently." She sat in front of his desk and he settled himself behind it.

"Sensitive?"

"Not common knowledge, but not classified either. They know full well I can't say two words about it to them, neither to confirm their concerns or shoot it down, but they're eager to help, especially Va'Ler, she's half-Vulcan and obviously the brightest of my students."

"Is she experienced at all?"

Kathryn sighed. "No sir. Her parents met on a Science expedition for the Federation, but neither are Starfleet officers, when she was born her human father moved her here. The only time she was ever off planet was at seven years old to study her Vulcan heritage. She's embraced it completely, as Vulcan as they get, even after spending a significant amount of time with those emotional middle school students."

He laughed at that last line. "How old?" Paris leaned back and looked at Kathryn intently.

"I don't know. More than twenty, but not by much, she's very young. And in _my_ class? It's all intro, basics, directives."

"Too young. I have no interest in endangering lives of those who have yet to complete their first year. I have a hard enough time doing it with those who are already officers. I've lost too many."

"With all due respect, Admiral, she's capable of a lot and willing to do anything. She'd stuff envelopes if it served the greater good."

"Envelopes, Kathryn?" Paris laughed. "You may be a child of the 24th century as you've always put it, but your parent's traditionalism stuck anyway."

She smirked. "Yeah, I try."

"Let me see what I can do. What class is she in?"

"My earliest."

He pondered a moment, staring out the window at the now completely dark horizon. "I'll contact you at 0500 with something. You'll be up?"

She groaned. "Yes, I'll be up."

He smiled at that. "Go home, Kathryn, let me worry about Romulus. We'll find a productive job for her that won't take her too far from her studies. And the other?"

"Well, he's lazy sir."

"Maybe I can find an envelope or two." He stood and showed her to the door.

Kathryn woke to her door chime. 0457 on the chronometer. She rolled over and squeezed her eyes shut hoping it would go away. Another moment and the chime sounded again. "I'm coming." She growled as she kicked at the standard issue sheet and blanket and slid off the edge of the bed. She wrapped her soft robe around her and opened the door.

Va'Ler was standing there, her hair wet and her long, plain Vulcan-styled dress was dripping too.

"Come in here and dry off." Kathryn pulled her through the door and closed it behind her.

"I was caught in a thunderstorm." Va'Ler offered as an explanation.

Kathryn raised an eyebrow. "Storms usually wake me up. Just now?"

"Yes, Admiral."

Kathryn fished a towel out from behind the bathroom door and handed it to the wet cadet. "What are you doing here so early?"

Before Va'Ler could answer, Kathryn's computer console sounded, the Starfleet Command insignia glowing a bright blue.

Kathryn sat in front of it and keyed it on. "Prompt as always."

"Kathryn, I assumed by up, you really would be." Paris was ever clad in dress uniform, his thinning hair parted in the same place. It had been that way for as long as she'd known him.

"I should have been. I slept through my alarm and apparently a thunderstorm." She raised an eyebrow at Va'Ler.

He nodded. "It was raining hard, the lightening was brutal."

"Yes, my Cadet was caught in it."

"Tutoring?" He looked confused.

She smiled at him and covered her mouth as she yawned. "Apologies, Sir. No, I've yet to discover why she's here at 5am. You have something for me?"

"Yes, I do. Are you up to a short trip? We have someone to fill your position at the Academy until you're back, and it may be good for your Cadet."

"Oh?" She tossed another glance at Va'Ler who was clearly interested now. "Where to, Admiral?"

"I have a highly classified document that needs to be delivered to the _Renegade_ on the Neutral Zone as well as a replacement tactical officer. You've been now granted a level 1, code red security clearance and you are to take a small ship with a skeleton crew to deliver both the officer and the file. And, you are to take your cadet, both if you so choose, but that is at your discretion."

She sat back in her chair. "Do I get a full briefing before embarking on this impromptu mission?"

"You should be used to _impromptu_ with your last big command going the way it did, Admiral. And yes, a full briefing, with a follow up for whomever you are bringing with you. You know the risks, make it clear to her. Paris out."

The screen went blank and Kathryn studied the empty space closely.

"You were not expectant of this, Admiral?" Va'Ler had not moved from the kitchen chair she was on and she still held the towel on her lap, not having bothered to dry her hair or her garment.

"Not at all, Va'Ler." She turned and faced the Vulcan, suddenly aware of just how young she was. Kathryn's first deep space mission with Admiral Paris had occurred at about her age. And they had been kidnapped and tortured by Cardassians on that occasion. "There could be great risk to this, are you up to it?"

Va'Ler allowed another few moments to pass before she stood and dropped the towel onto the chair. "Admiral, I knew the risks when I enrolled in the Academy, I've been looking forward to this since I was a small child."

Kathryn nodded. "I'll see you at class than, we'll discuss the briefing when I have more information."

Va'Ler had not reached the door yet when a pounding sounded on the other side. "Starfleet Security, open up!"

Kathryn jumped up and pulled on the knob to let the officers in. Three armed men in security uniforms rushed in, pushing Va'Ler and Kathryn to the wall. They searched the small apartment, over turning everything as they did.

One officer leaned into the comm badge pinned to the inside collar of his uniform. "Clear, Sir."

Admiral Paris quickly walked into the apartment and glanced around before fixing his eyes on Kathryn. "I'm sorry about this, but I received a pending threat against your life before having concluded transmission. I sent them immediately and beamed here myself as soon as I ended communications."

"In that case, no problem." She held a hand up in apparent surrender before pulling her robe tighter around her, suddenly aware of all the men in her private apartment.

"I will need you to not continue your normal routine. You're beaming up to the ship now…" he looked her up and down. "Well, after you change."

She nodded and slipped into the bedroom section of her apartment and quickly changed. By the time she had returned, Paris had finished a brief introduction of himself to Va'Ler.

"There's no going back from this point, Cadet."

"What about me!" Andrew burst through the apartment doors, Phoebe on his heels.

Kathryn shook her head.

Paris looked from Kathryn to Andrew and Phoebe and back. "Are your cadets all this pushy?"

"Only these two, she's not mine, but she's fitting in well." Kathryn straightened the jacket of her uniform as she stood between two armed guards.

"I told you it's up to you." Paris was looking directly at Kathryn now.

"I'm more in the habit of endangering lives than you are." She mumbled. "Andrew…"

"Please, Admiral! I'm not good in class cause I don't wanna be there. You can trust me to do this! I've always wanted to be in Starfleet! I can do this!"

"You don't even know what _this_ is." Kathryn didn't want to tell him no, but she still wasn't sure.

"I'm a great a pilot." He offered as a last ditch effort.

She suddenly saw a young Tom Paris standing in front of her, eagerly begging to let him do anything but just observe. She switched gears slightly as she looked from Andrew to Phoebe. "What year are you?"

"Third. Science class."

That also caught Kathryn's attention. She turned back to Paris. "Yeah. I could use some eager new life on my team." She looked at the two new additions with a warning in her eye. "This is not a run of the mill training flight. This is a deep space intelligence and relief mission you will act and serve as crewmen with a small contingent of officers. Am I clear?"

"Perfectly." All three responded in unison.

"You run a tight class, Janeway." Paris grinned as he nudged her.


	2. Part 2: USS Asteria NCC2954

**Part Two: The USS Asteria NCC-2954**

Kathryn and the three cadets beamed onto the USS _Asteria, _registration NCC-2954, at 0600 hours sharp, less than an hour after discovering there was a mission at all. They were greeted in the tiny transporter room by Lieutenant Valerie Johnson.

"Admiral, their Starfleet issue uniforms are ready in the crew quarters, the last two bunks Ma'am."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Kathryn allowed Johnson to lead herself and the three out and down the single width corridor to the crew quarters.

They gathered the uniforms and went to the private bathrooms to change as Kathryn left Lieutenant Johnson with them and headed for the bridge.

"Admiral on the Bridge!" The Commander announced as she entered.

"Thank you…"

"Justin Gardner."

_Justin._ She hadn't given a thought to her first love in a long time. Now a man by the same name was serving as her second in command. "Pleasure, Commander." She shook his hand as she ascended the quick two steps to the aft point of the Bridge. Three other officers were in place, one at tactical, another at the ops station, and the last at con. "Is everyone on board? Admiral Paris is eager for us to get underway." She inquired as she made a quick visual inspection of the ship's command deck. It was an older design, mimicking the Galaxy Class, albeit an infinitely smaller type with no saucer section to it. It was a sleek ship with a slender bow and short port nacelles, a lower subsection that made it appear to be Galaxy class.

"Yes, Admiral." He sat down and punched up Starfleet Command on the Main Viewer. "You're through."

"Admiral Paris, we're all set." Kathryn spoke as she reached the Command level of the Bridge again, hands firmly on her hips.

"Stay at high warp once you leave the system. I'm sending the ship carrying the _Renegade's _replacement tactical officer to meet you at pre-determined co-ordinates. Commander Gardner has that information, once you rendezvous with that ship, their Commanding officer will have further information. I'm sorry to keep you in the dark, Admiral Janeway, but before you reach the Neutral Zone you will have every bit of information necessary."

"Yes sir."

"God speed."

She smiled and nodded before turning to the officer at tactical. "End transmission, Ensign."

"Yes, Ma'am." Her fingers tapped a couple of keys before finding the right one.

Kathryn settled next to Gardner. "Are they junior officers?" She whispered as she leaned her chin to rest on her palm.

"Junior when it comes to space travel, yes. However, all officers on board are cleared for highest security in Starfleet Intel and have minimum twenty years in service. I'm the only experienced space traveler, short of our engineer."

She raised an eyebrow and her lip curved up in the truest Janeway smirk. "Let's not get into any trouble out here than, ey?"

"Aye… Admiral." He returned the smirk, and tried to convey his assurances in this particular crew.

"Admiral?" Lieutenant Johnson came up from the turbolift on the side. "Did you want the cadets on the Bridge?"

"Yes, I think it would be good as we leave. What's your post, Lieutenant?"

She stood to the side as the three emerged and retreated to the rear of the Bridge. "Chief of Engineering, Ma'am. And if you no longer need me, I think I'll return there."

Kathryn nodded in dismissal and turned her head to look at her two students and their friend. "Phoebe, what's your last name?"

"McKeith." She whispered.

"You are so quiet. Before we jump to warp, are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely, Admiral Janeway!" There was a sudden confidence to her voice as the possibility of losing this experience dawned on her.

"Alright than." She stood and motioned Andrew over. "How good are you?"

"Enough to make my pleading less showoff and more honest than you think I'm being." He grinned down at her from his, she had to guess, 6 inches above her.

The ensign sitting there gladly surrendered. "If he does alright, may I return to crew quarters for a time?"

Kathryn nodded hesitantly. "Give it a try, Andrew."

Andrew sat and punched in the coordinates on the PADD sitting beside him.

Kathryn turned to the Ensign. "I was about to say, if he makes it out of the system, yes you can."

He smiled softly. "I'm sorry, Admiral, I should have informed you, I'm a Betazoid."

She looked semi-relieved that his mind-reading was just that. "That's fine ensign, hang tight until we know for sure."

"Have some faith in me, Admiral, just because my tests are always late doesn't mean I'm incapable like Va'Ler thinks I am." He paused with his finger hovering over the final button in the impulse engine ignition sequence. "Admiral?"

"Engage, Cadet." She patted him on the back as he punched it and the ship jumped to high impulse. "When we're out of the system, go to Warp 7..." She paused and turned to Gardner.

He stood. "Warp 8.3 is the acceptable maximum on this ship."

"Thank you, Commander. Warp 8.3 when we leave the system."

"Yes Ma'am."

"Tactical?"

"Ensign Ena Rose, Ma'am." The Bajoran officer responded.

"Ensign Ena, maintain yellow alert for the time being."

Ena nodded and entered the command into the console. The Bridge lights turned from the standard fluorescent colors to the pale yellow, indicating a heightened alert status.

"I'll be in the briefing room and appreciate you joining me when we've gone to Warp, Commander."

"Yes, Admiral." He stood as she left for the turbolift.

Gardner stood silently for a moment before turning to the two cadets still at the back. "You're in the Admiral's class?"

Va'Ler clasped her hands behind her back. "I am, Sir. Phoebe McKeith is in Professor Ratheele's third year science class."

"We don't have a science officer on this ship. It may be good for your resume." He looked back at Va'Ler. "And what do you plan to study?"

"I am taking classes on multiple subjects, Sir."

"Ok." He turned and walked to the front of the Command Level. "I think you can go Ensign Velt." He gestured to the Betezoid con officer.

"Yes sir."

Gardner waited as they passed the rock that is "planet" Pluto and Andrew pushed in the sequence to take her to Warp 8.3."

"We're on our way, Commander." Andrew was ecstatic as he leaned back, a grin spreading across his boyish features.

Gardner rolled his eyes. "You have the Bridge, Lieutenant." He angled a glance towards the Ops officer who quickly exited the station and approached the Commander. "Anything happens- the slightest thing concerns you, notify the Admiral or myself immediately."

"Understood, Sir." He agreed.

* * *

Kathryn had taken a short stroll around the five floor ship. Deck one was the Bridge and Bridge alone. The second deck was the briefing room, something that was not stocked enough to be a sickbay, as well as emergency pods and a tiny shuttle bay she was sure Tom Paris himself couldn't dock a shuttle in. The third floor was the transporter room, galley, and crew quarters, three rooms with 4 sets of bunks each. As well as the Captain and first officer's quarters. Two small rooms each with a private bath. It was in hers that she found a PADD with detailed information on the escalating Reman crisis and more details than originally provided to the Command Board regarding the violent attack on the Romulan Senate. She stowed them in the small desk before continuing her stroll. Deck four was odd to her. This tiny ship had a large compliment of torpedoes and probes, housed in a special bay area, bigger than the one allotted to the shuttle bay. She browsed them before taking the turbo lift to the final deck. There she found engineering. She remembered the first ship her father had taken her to and this engine room was similar in size and specs. She smiled as she walked to the warp core, which had been updated to reflect what _Voyager _had in hers. "Lieutenant?"

Johnson peeked over the edge of the second level past the open deck plate she was doing something to with a hydrospanner. "Admiral? Checking the ship out?"

"Yes I am. What's the crew compliment right now?"

"Not as many as we were planning to run with, but the risky business of intelligence demands perfection, no substitutes. I'm surprised Admiral Paris allowed you to take _Cadets._" She dropped the hydrospanner to the lower level and cursed.

Kathryn picked it up and climbed the access ladder to the second level.

"Thanks." She took it gratefully and set it beside her as she wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead.

Kathryn crouched down next to her. "Can I help?"

"No." She sighed and rolled onto her back, pressing her palms against her eyes. "Would you know I've worked in this engine room for _twelve_ years and they still won't give me what I need to keep her together?"

Kathryn crossed her legs and played with the hydrospanner, letting the grease dirty her far too sterile fingertips. "You sounds so much like my last Chief Engineer."

Johnson sat up and pushed the deck plate back down, covering the wires beneath. "Yeah? On _Voyager?_ When she first came out I got a _tour!_ Oh, bioneural gel packs, _plasma_ cooling circuitry? I want that engine room." She smiled, "I applied too, but…" She sighed. "I knew your first engineer, it devastated me to see he was killed on the first mission. Kinda makes me glad I didn't get it though."

She nodded and pursed her lips. "How risky is this mission?"

"You weren't briefed?"

Kathryn shook her head. "No sooner did Paris give me orders and my apartment was raided by armed Starfleet Security officers on a threat against me. They scooped me up and shipped me off."

"That's funny, he told us you'd be prepared."

"Briefed and prepared are very different things to me. Admiral Paris knows what I can handle off the cuff, but I have a meeting with Commander Gardner to discuss it all when we leave the system."

Johnson stood up and wiped the grease off of her hands with an old towel. She studied the Warp core a moment before deciding it wasn't operating at warp. "I think you have a few, wanna look her over?"

Kathryn smiled at Valerie Johnson, she could befriend this woman, even on a four week mission. "Definitely, Lieutenant."

"As for your question of crew, I'm not sure exactly how many made it aboard, I have four engineers and perhaps you can spare that Vulcan cadet, I read her file last night after you spoke with Admiral Paris, she seems to have a knack for mechanics."

Kathryn nodded as she followed her down the ladder.

"If you don't mind dropping protocol my way, you can call me Val, everyone else on the ship does."

"Okay, Val. If you've served on this ship for 12 years, you're not an intelligence officer?"

Valerie crawled into a Jeffries tube indicating Kathryn follow her. "Not out and out, but I've long been cleared to Code Blue level one, because of the nature of the missions this ship embarks on."

Kathryn nodded, despite the fact that she was behind Valerie. "She's all yours, she's an eager student, very capable and the top of all of her classes."

"What do you teach?"

"Entry level."

Valerie turned around almost completely, surprise registering on her features. "Respect for experience not withstanding, Admiral, you should be teaching the_ teachers_."

Kathryn shook her head. "I wasn't sure I wanted to teach at all. This is my first year, but I may consider taking up a science course or two next semester, assuming I survive this Jeffries tube."

"Yeah, it's considerably smaller than regulation, but it does the job. I wanted you to see just how old the network is." She pushed the last hatch aside and scooted through into the central cross point for the circuits. "It's a damn mess in here _all _the time."

Kathryn bit her lip trying not to grin as she stuck her head out. "Definitely like my engineer."

"Gardner to Janeway."

Kathryn tapped her commbadge. "Go ahead, Commander."

"Admiral, we've gone to warp. Are you in the briefing room?"

Kathryn struggled to contain a chuckle. "No, Commander, I am in the Jeffries tube."

Valerie broke out in laughter as she followed Kathryn back through to Engineering.

"I'll meet you up there. Janeway out."

"I can picture his face. Oh and he usually goes by Justin, unless you're on that protocol thing. We usually drop it quick, Intelligence officers are so used to undercover work that rank doesn't usually stick."

"Justin I can't do." Kathryn said simply as she climbed out of the Jeffries tube and offered a hand to Valerie.

"Oh?" She took her hand and ducked out, nearly tripping as she did.

"Long story." Kathryn headed for the door. "I'll see you later."

"Yes, Ma'am."

* * *

When Kathryn arrived at the briefing room, Gardner was sitting to the side of the large, rounded out table, staring out the viewport. She cleared her throat and he jumped, turning the swivel chair around completely.

"I didn't hear the door. Please, Admiral." He stood and indicated the seating as she approached the other side of the table and he eased himself down as she did across from him.

"I didn't mean to startle you, Commander." She leaned her elbows on the table and folded her fingers together, studying his features closely. "Will you be filling me in?"

He nodded and stood, heading for the computer console. "Computer, display _Renegade_ ship schematics, including crew quarters, and sensitive areas, voice authorization Gardner Pie Three Feita."

The computer responded by displaying the requested schematics and flickered through each frame, pausing only five seconds for each.

"Computer, transfer to Admiral Janeway's quarters and encode, security clearance Janeway only."

"Transfer complete."

Kathryn watched as he repeated this procedure through several more screens, including the _Renegade_ Captain's personal logs as received by Starfleet Command. When he had finished with the fifth, she felt the need to interrupt. "I suppose I have a lot of catching up to do, despite my level of involvement in the Romulan situation."

"Quite." He confirmed before continuing with the information transfer. It was so heavily encoded that the computer would not allow access from just any console despite security clearances.

She rested her chin on top of her folded fingers and continued to watch him until he returned to his seat. She leaned forward as though afraid to ask what she was thinking. "Commander, what is going on?"

"This Captain has refused two direct orders to assist the Enterprise with the Reman problem, and when he requested a replacement tactical officer he gave no reason for it. He's privy to many of the direct communications between Command and the Enterprise and knew of your involvement on the investigative board. It's believed he intercepted your communiqué to Captain Picard."

"That wasn't classified in and of itself. So, why bother? Do they think he was involved in the threat against me that happened this morning?"

"All I know of that particular threat is that Admiral Paris received a message stating that you wouldn't survive your trip to the Academy and considering you leave early he assumed there was something in your apartment. We can speculate that he was involved, but not for sure. Communicating orders from the Neutral Zone to operatives on Earth in a matter of hours is no small feat." He leaned forward now and dropped his voice to just above a whisper. "Paris thinks that your students are involved, specifically the Vulcan."

Kathryn shook her head firmly. "No. That's not possible. I've been the victim of more than one mutiny and a few traitorous moves while in the Delta Quadrant, and think I can read them better than that."

"I hope for your sake, and hers that you're right, but for now she thinks she's helping out and your inclusion of the other two will keep our concerns under wraps. We'll know for sure when we get to the _Renegade._ Having a Betazoid officer was no accident either."

"But not a secret." She offered, remembering the Ensign's confession.

"Correct. Everything is set in motion and once you read through those files I can supply more information on the specifics of this mission."

"Commander, if they suspect Va'Ler, what good would a Betazoid do? The Vulcan mind is so level and controlled that he wouldn't get a read on her."

"The thought pattern behind that is that Va'Ler is young, and if she's been influenced by Romulan traiors it's possible that she is not fully in control."

"I suppose I'll get to those reports now, sitting here speculating isn't helping me." She sighed and stood. "Will you be on the Bridge if I have questions?"

"No, Admiral, I'll be in my quarters doing much of the same."

"I see, well… I'll talk to you later."

"Oh, Admiral?"

She stopped at the door, sensing this was coming considering her recent conversation with Valerie.

"You can call me Justin."

"Okay." She didn't turn, didn't smile and was painfully aware of the nauseas feeling rising in her.

* * *

Justin watched her go. He sighed remembering reading her psychological profile when Paris had the intelligence agents scope her students out on the first day of class. Her fiancé, the first one, had died in traumatic accident she had witnessed. He was an intelligence specialist named Justin. He shook it off, what's done was done and there was no taking it back. It was good though, to see what made her tick, what made her stop and think and what made her squirm and hurt. He didn't like doing it to someone who was on his side, but it's what made him a good agent.

He waited another moment, not wanting to end up running into her near the officer's quarters, figuring he had upset her some and she'd want to be alone. Besides that, she had a lot of work in front of her, they all did.

To be Continued….


	3. Part 3: Veins of a Traitor Run Deep

**Part Three: Veins of a Traitor Run Deep**

Kathryn Janeway made it to her quarters before breaking down completely. She locked the door and slumped against it, using it to ease herself to the ground where she crossed her legs and let her head fall into her hands. She sobbed quietly for a long time. Far too much of this was bringing back painful memories. It was the kidnapping on the Cardassian border, during that mission she had decided never to get involved with Starfleet Intelligence operations, and after Justin's death she wanted even less to do with it. Her position on the board of directors for the Romulan Senate Mission shouldn't have pushed her into this spiral. The worst part of it was Admiral Paris knew she couldn't handle it, or she thought he knew that. She finally calmed herself by breathing slowly, measuring each one. She tried to think back to the mental exercises Tuvok had taught her and kicked herself for not putting more time into it. Time was one of the things they had in abundance in the Delta Quadrant, but she always avoided it. What she remembered did the trick anyway and at long last she struggled to her feet. She made her way to the basin in the bathroom and filled it half way with cool water. She splashed it on her face and wiped it dry, staring at herself in the mirror as she did. So much of her life had been one devastating event after another, but she always held her head high through it. This would not get her down.

"Janeway to Gardner. Commander, will you join me a moment?"

"Yes, Admiral. I'm on my way."

It took him longer than she expected for him to get from his quarters to hers, but it was enough time for her to contain most evidence of her break down. The door chimed as she ran the brush through her hair and pushed it behind her ears. She straightened the uniform jacket, a habit she was sure she picked up from Paris in the early days as she couldn't remember a time she hadn't done that. Finally she responded. "Come in."

Justin stepped through the door, and instantly knew she had spent some time crying, although she had calmed herself better than most in the aftermath of a breakdown. "Are you alright, Admiral?"

She smirked. Of course he'd be able to tell. "Fine yes. I wanted to apologize for being short with you, I've…" She paused, not being one to divulge all, and especially not to a stranger.

"The name, I know. I regretted saying it the moment I did."

_He'd know that too_, she mused. "I'm glad you understand. I shocked myself, I don't know why it's so sensitive after so long."

"It has been a few years. How about we sit, discuss some things. I know you almost as well as you know yourself, but you don't know _me _at all."

She nodded and pointed to the little sitting area on the right side of the room before approaching the replicator with some hesitance. "This is a very, very new model."

"Speak to it." He teased lightly as he sat.

"Coffee, black." She tossed a glance at him before turning back. "You?"

"Please restate request." The computer chirped.

"Not you!" She growled.

He laughed lightly. "Coffee, black with a sugar."

She repeated the order and carried the two steaming mugs back to where he was. "Well, you're half right."

He took it with a slight nod. "Well, I need both the caffeine and the sugar rush to keep me going, I might as well combine it."

"Touché." She inhaled it for a moment before bothering to sip at it. "So… _Justin._" She took in a sharp breath as she did so. He was about what her Justin, Justin Tighe would have been in age now. Just thinking about him was causing her eyes to sting and she closed them as she continued to speak. "Where are you from?"

"Alaska. I went to school with William Riker, actually."

"Really?" She smiled, eyes still closed. "That's neat, I met him at the banquet when _Voyager _returned. Very intelligent man, smart to marry Deanna Troi, don't you think?"

"Did they finally do it?" He laughed and shook his head. "Riker and I made it through most of the Academy together before he began his Command courses and I dove into Intel Ops." He was studying her, and was pretty sure a tear had dripped down her cheek a bit ago.

"Did you know - never mind. Why aren't you commanding this ship?" She wiped at the tear confirming it was indeed one before taking another sip, eyes still closed.

He resisted the urge to question her. "Well, I thought it over, but from a purely tactical standpoint I can't command a specific starship while maintaining an operative position, despite the fact the _Asteria_ is more or less ours to use."

"I see. The crew respects you, and Lieutenant Johnson knows you pretty well." She leaned against the sofa back and crossed one leg beneath her, finally daring to open her eyes.

He mimicked her relaxing as he rested his ankle atop his other knee and set the mug to balance on his calf. The curiosity of her unfinished question won him over and he asked, as gently as he could. "Did I know who?"

"Justin Tighe." She whispered, he barely heard it, but knew what name her lips were mouthing.

"I did. Fairly well for a while, we completed a few missions together prior to his assignment to the Cardassian border under Paris. After that mission we didn't see each other maybe twice. You were special to him though. Both times he mentioned you."

She smiled, a slow spreading one, her eyes not nearly as misty as they were before she shut them. "He… he was to me too." She was still whispering, but this time audibly.

"Double blow. I don't know how you got through that."

"Not by talking it out." She confessed

"No, obviously not. I'm well aware of the emotion you're holding back. If it's any help to you, you can trust me." He was comforting as he spoke in spite of the prying nature of his questions.

She shrugged. "I don't ever talk my feelings out, not even with my closest friends."

"This could be why it still hurts so much." He moved his hand from his knee to her lower arm and gripped it tight. "Well, anyway, I'm a good guy." He grinned like a school boy.

She had to return the enthusiasm, he was contagious. "Thank you. Now, how about we discuss the mission and get off of this emotional crap?"

"Oh yeah." He allowed himself to return to the present as he set the mug on the table beside him. "Why don't you access those files I sent now and we'll piece through them together? Oh and I left a few PADDs on your desk."

"Yes, I found them earlier." She set her mug down beside his and went to the desk console to do as he suggested.

* * *

Kathryn rubbed her tired eyes and set down her latest coffee mug, now empty like the last four. They'd been at it for three hours straight, delving into details about the possible traitor commanding the _Renegade_, every communication change, every staff issue, log and report. "I'm not cut out for intelligence work." She sighed and slumped down on the floor next to him, several PADDs between them. The carpeting on the decks plates was considerably thinner than the one on _Voyager_ and she regretted sitting back onto it.

"It's one of those acquired tastes." He picked her mug up and his along with it to send through the replicator into the recycle setting. "Another?"

"No, please." She held her hand up before laughing at herself. It'd been a long time since she'd refused coffee, but it was making her sick at this point. "Perhaps we should consider food?"

"Yes, I suppose. The galley, Admiral?" He held his hand down to her.

She took it and let him help her to her feet. "While I may struggle with yours, you can call me Kathryn, Admiral still sounds awful to me."

He grinned. "Okay, Kathryn."

The two walked from her quarters down the four doors to the galley. When they entered most of the small crew was there. They nodded at the Admiral and Commander as they strolled in and ordered from one of the three replicators on the wall. They found an empty table near the farthest viewport and settled in.

"Four week mission is the shortest I've been on in some time." He commented as she fought with her corn cob.

"Yes, me too. Mind you my last deep space mission was _seven years_." She finally got it to stay still on the plate so she could coat the butter more evenly than the replicator had. "Well, I _was_ hoping not to have it covered in the chicken sauce."

He shook his head. "Soup and sandwich. No mixing, no mess." He downed a spoonful of the vegetable filled broth and took a bite of his sandwich.

"Significantly less taste too, _Commander_."

He shrugged. "Eh, whatever."

"Am I interrupting?" Valerie's voice was rarely quiet, but it blended in with their surroundings, making it less intrusive.

"Not at all." Kathryn managed to respond without showing too many corn kernels as she did. "Please."

Ever the gentleman, Justin stood until Valerie had sat down next to Kathryn. He watched the two Midwestern ladies discussing their background and history living in traditionalist homes in the plains. Kathryn from Indiana, Valerie from Missouri.

As they conversed, Andrew bounded in and made it straight for their table, dropping to his knees next to it and supporting himself against it with his arms. "Hi, Admiral." He grinned.

She stared at him a moment before returning the smile. "Have you been relieved of duty, Mr. Starlin?"

"Yes, Ma'am. Ensign Velt decided I was getting tired."

"I don't see it." She teased. "Get something to eat and remind me to introduce you to ship command protocols."

"Aye-aye." He stood and hurried to find out what goodies he could access from the replicator.

Justin watched him closely as he went.

Valerie, clearly not clued in to the suspicions of Starfleet Intelligence regarding Kathryn's cadets, cocked her head to the side. "Justin, you don't like him do you?"

Justin shrugged and returned his attention to his soup. "Too peppy." He lied easily.

Kathryn finished her chicken and the remaining kernels on the cob before pushing the plate to the side of the table. Valerie had finished her macaroni and cheese and both women were now watching Justin pick at his remaining food.

"Damn, Justin, you're so difficult." Valerie ducked her head to catch his eye, which he lifted just enough to stare at her. She laughed and grabbed her plate and Kathryn's. "I'm going back to work. If I don't keep at it we'll drop to low impulse." There was a tone to her voice indicating her want for a big overhaul, but Justin ignored it. She sighed and left.

"Your mood changes without warning." Kathryn quipped as she slid around the table to sit beside him instead. She liked watching people, which didn't work too well if her back was to them. She leaned away from the table a little bit and nudged Justin.

"It's not the mood." He was cryptic as he stood up. "We'll be approaching coordinates for our rendezvous soon and I don't want to betray anything."

"I see. Are we returning to work, or will you be running off now?"

He picked his plate up and stepped back. "After you."

She rolled her eyes, hoping somewhat that he would have chosen the latter. "Thank you, Sir."

He dipped his head, all but bowing to her and she laughed. It'd been a while since she was on a ship, let alone commanding one. She could get used to the banter among crew again.

When they walked back into her quarters, the light mood dropped, both realizing how far they still had to go.

"This is tedious." She rubbed the back of her neck in anticipation of the work. "How do you do it?"

He shrugged and replicated still more coffee. "I just do. I keep in mind that everything in this job has a consequence, if I'm wrong someone will be punished unnecessarily. If I don't catch everything, the guilty party walks. In essence, I'm the victim's last hope." He grimaced as he handed her the sugarless mug. "A job I do not take lightly."

"Thank you very, _very_ much." She giggled as she enunciated the words, more out of exhaustion, than enjoyment.

Justin rubbed his own eyes and picked an untouched PADD off of the table. He started pacing as he looked it over, his eyes darting back and forth. "This one concerned me the most." He laid the PADD in her open palm and spoke as she read it. "In his log entry, Stardate 56832.4, Captain Freemont had just been assigned to the Romulan Neutral Zone ordered to patrol the area. This was immediately before Praetor Shinzon requested a meeting with Starfleet. In this log entry he mentions the 'Romulan problem' and constantly uses the terms 'new leadership' and 'dying race.' Starfleet Intel has operatives decoding it now, but their preliminary theories rest on these code phrases being orders to someone on earth and that the constant mention would bring up this log in a search."

Kathryn scrolled up and down between the third and fourth paragraphs of the log. "Having been before the consult request, but after the attack on the Senate… he knew something.. He knew before we did, maybe even before his being reassigned?"

"That's what we picked up on. Also, many aboard deep space starships become curious when a subspace message goes interstellar and live from Command to the Enterprise rather than a standard subspace, but no one ever taps in. When we discovered the uplink from the _Renegade_ to the live communiqué between you and Picard, there was a concern that if her were a traitor he assumed you knew more than you did."

"Making me more useful to Admiral Paris anyway." She mumbled as she took a swig of the hot liquid.

"If they're already watching you, yes it does."

"Where does Va'Ler fall into this, and how did the Admiral know she'd come to me?"

Justin took the PADD from her and scrolled down to the final paragraph before setting it back in her hand.

_Tense times like these make me long for the gardens of the Academy, strolling from the common area after 8 in the evening, sun hitting my face as it sinks down, teachers leaving after a long day._ She blinked hard. "It's like a physical map of what time I left every night this week and which direction I walked."

Justin sat on the coffee table and stared at her. "How many professors leave the Academy as late as you've been?"

"None." She sighed. "Just me, sometimes Tuvok, but he leaves a different direction than I, you can't see the sun setting from any other exit of that building and I'm the only one who lives in that direction."

"Admiral Paris read through that log hours before you showed up in his office looking for an assignment for eager cadets. It all fell into place. And what was a student doing at your door so early? Is that like her?"

"No." She whispered. "This could be entirely conjecture on Intelligence's part right?"

"It could be." He agreed, but said nothing to support that theory.

She shook her head again and set the PADD down. "How long has Freemont been in command of the _Renegade?"_

Justin stood back up and continued to pace, this time with a new PADD. "This is his second assignment, but first deep space mission. His first was a short escort mission to Vulcan, which is where we believe he made contact with Va'Ler."

"Before she enrolled?" It was a hypothetical question, she knew Va'Ler had not completed her entrance exam in time, but had squeezed her application in at the last possible moment before the semester began. "She _was_ on Vulcan for a year prior to this semester, yes."

He nodded and held up a photo on the next PADD, the girl standing in front of Freemont was very similar to Va'Ler.

"Oh, no." She breathed.

"We can't ID her for sure, and most of this is circumstantial, against both of them, but there's a lot of it. Paris was going to send you with us at a later date, but the way it played out was too perfect, we had to dispatch."

"With or without half your officers." She commented lightly. "All three cadets knew about the orders to the _Enterprise. _Andrew himself said someone on board knew his father and the details spread like wildfire."

"Wherever they got their information, it wasn't from the _Enterprise._ There's a strict gag order on the crew. Andrew, Va'Ler, Phoebe, they may all be involved and were just using you to get more information, but we'll see."

"Bridge to Admiral Janeway and Commander Gardner."

She tapped her Commbadge. "Go ahead Bridge."

"We're an hour short of rendezvous, Admiral, but they've sent us a subspace hail."

"Put it through to my quarters." She got up and keyed in the communications frequency on the desk console.

She lit up as she saw Chakotay sitting in front of her. "Chakotay!"

"Hello, Kathryn. Admiral Paris didn't tell me we'd be meeting with you." Chakotay shifted in his seat, something he never did.

Kathryn picked up on it immediately and her tone became tight. "Send us your coordinates, Captain, and we'll get on with the mission at hand."

He nodded and cut transmission without another word.

Justin stared at Kathryn a moment. "Everything alright?"

"No, something's terribly wrong." She was surprised Justin didn't pick up on the change in his body posture, she was sure he could do that with people he'd never met before.

She turned sideways in the chair to face him directly. "I spent 18 hours a day with Chakotay for seven years straight, some days it was longer. Something has happened on that ship and we may be walking right into it."

"How well do you trust him?" His tone was cautiously even, knowing how close she was to her _Voyager_ crew.

"I would never question his intention, honesty, and commitment, Commander." Her tone matched his.

"Than we have to assume he was trying to tell you something. They're cover may have been compromised."

She nodded and they left for the Bridge.

* * *

They emerged from the turbolift to discover only the officers on the bridge, no cadets.

The Ops Lieutenant in charge gave Ensign Ena a nod and she quickly spoke. "Admiral, it looks like they're operating at red alert, torpedo bays are armed and trained on us."

"Red alert, raise shields." Justin ordered firmly.

"So much for not getting into trouble." Kathryn mumbled to Justin before speaking louder. "Hail them!"

"No response, Admiral!" Ena Rose sounded concerned. "Admiral?"

"Yes?" Kathryn turned on her heel and stared at the Bajoran woman.

"It looks like all emergency pods have been launched and there are less than thirty people left on board, almost all… _Reman_." Her head shot up and she stared at Kathryn. "Two Humans, a Vulcan and a Klingon."

Kathryn spun around and shot a glance at Justin who was looking confused and concerned. "_Remans? _Commander, intelligence reported to the Board that the only vessel having left Remus was Shinzon's."

"We're watching the third planet closely, no one has left, none that we were aware of, only the one's on Shinzon's envoy." Justin sprinted to the ops station and started accessing the intelligence files cleared for the Bridge.

Kathryn tried desperately to keep her thoughts off of Chakotay and on their current problem, it wasn't working. She placed her hands firmly on her hips and thought for a moment. "Ensign Ena?"

"Admiral?" Her hands were shaking a little bit, clearly a desk job type of a girl.

"Fire phasers across their bow."

She hesitated before completing the order.

Justin smirked from the Ops station. "They're hailing us." He opened the channel and a tall, pale skinned Remun appeared before her.

"Janeway." His voice dripped with contempt. "They told us you were involved."

She dropped her arms to her side and stared him down, her diplomacy would not fail now. "What do you want with a Starfleet ship? You're one crew against an entire armada which could be here in a matter of moments."

"Your lead ship is caught up with our Praetor at the moment, who would command this _armada_?"

"Clearly you don't understand Starfleet protocol." She spun around. "End transmission. Fire at vital systems, I want their shields down and the remaining crew beamed aboard."

The ship banked hard to the side, throwing Kathryn with it. She recovered her footing with near grace as Justin came to the command level. He grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him to steady her and dropped his voice. "Kathryn, their warp trail emanates from the _Renegade's _position. They're a decoy, something to keep us occupied."

"Can you pick up the _Renegade _on sensors yet?" Kathryn whispered back.

"No, we're still too far off."

Another shot sent them both flying to the deck plates.

Kathryn pressed her hand against her head, she hit something and it was bleeding now. "Fire at will!" She ordered, at which Ena quickly responded. "Evasive pattern zero one delta!"

The Betazoid conn officer complied and the ship leapt forward before dipping down and rolling beneath the other.

Ena continued the barrage of phaser fire against the Remans, desperately trying to anticipate Velt's quick movements.

Kathryn struggled again to her feet and braced herself against the back of Ensign Velt's seat. Suddenly a volley of phaser fire and a single torpedo emitted from the other ship. "Hard to starboard!" She shouted over the alarms blaring.

It was too late.

* * *

To Be Continued…  
*Warning - There will be blood, some violence. No major character deaths (mine or Paramount's), cross my heart, but the next is what T ratings are all about.*


	4. Part 4: I Bleed Starfleet

Warning: There's some mention of torture, a bit of blood mixed in. Thanks everyone for the feedback so far!

* * *

**Part Four: I Bleed Starfleet**

The room smelled of death, reeked of it. The stench in the too hot underbelly of the Starfleet ship _Cornelius_ was enough to gag the hardest. Kathryn rolled onto her side, hanging her head over whatever it was she was laying on and started coughing, gagging on the vomit remaining in her mouth. She must have been throwing up all night, now there was precious little left. Everything hurt, every time she'd try to move another wave of nausea and dizziness would hit. She coughed again and dry heaves racked her body. Finally she forced her head back down and she stared straight up, attempting to make her eyes work in the black.

"Kathryn?" The voice was deep, pained and had a hint of accent to it, barely noticed except for the way he said her name. "Kathryn, can you get up?" The accent fled after the second syllable. His voice was the only one to say her name in the two syllables it was meant to be, rather than the three of _Katherine_.

She tried to speak, but started into the dry heaves again. She was fighting the pain, she wanted to reach him, someone familiar and safe.

Chakotay listened to her throwing up and coughing all night. They'd brought her down after the final attack against the _Asteria_ had left her adrift. They raided her and split their tiny crew in half. A daring move for any enemy to attempt. He had listened to them kick her and hit her and he was powerless to stop it as they held him back. She'd been unconscious already, or at least he prayed to the ancestors and spirits of his people that's what her silence meant. Now she was moving again, but not responding to him. He managed to get up, this time tripping over only two bodies of his tortured and slain crew. He had spent some time grieving over it while down in the makeshift brig. He reached the far wall and stopped, forcing himself to not breath, hoping to hear her again.

Kathryn rolled onto her side and felt the dizziness again sweep over her. She groaned and willed it to leave her body. It wouldn't, it was a formidable enemy for Kathryn Janeway, but she would fight.

Chakotay heard the groan, a pained sound and his heart ached for her. She was hurt, sick and alone, he needed to be there for her. He promised her that nearly 8 years ago on New Earth. He reached the foot of a _bed_, a slab of metal laid across old crates. He probed up the metal and felt the soft contrast of her uniform pants. _Finally_. He knelt down beside her and let his fingers follow her leg to find her hand.

She felt his touch, but dared not move for fear of the nausea again. She felt his warm fingers touch her hand and she gripped it tight in an instant, impulsive motion.

"Ssh, Kathryn, I'm here. I'm here." He whispered as he pressed his forehead against hers. She was shaking from the sickness as he smoothed her hair back and wiped the sweat from her neck.

"Chakotay…" She managed as she wrapped her free arm around her friend's strong shoulders. She was scared, that didn't happen often, but it was happening now. She couldn't think and had no idea where she was except that they were fired on. She remembered no details, the brutal beating had made sure she wouldn't. "What-"

He pressed his finger to her lips to silence her. "Just rest."

She complied, he had that effect on her, not always, but sometimes he was right. So silent she was. She let him rub her arm and hold her, for at least an hour.

After some time had passed she nudged him. He had fallen asleep, his head against her chest. "Chakotay?" She whispered softly.

He stirred, his head pressing against her and making her cry out softly. He jumped up. "I'm sorry, Kathryn."

"It's ok." She managed through a gasp as the pain washed away, she imagined the bruising was pretty bad for a mere movement to cause that pain, maybe even a cracked rib.

He helped her sit up, both of their eyes now better adjusted to the dark. He could make out her silhouette at least. "Where's your crew?"

"My crew?" She repeated. Than she remembered, it was all coming back. Justin, the _Asteria,_ her cadets… "Did they bring them here?"

"No." He shook his head as the rank smell reminded him what they did to his crew. He let the unspoken thought hang in the air as Kathryn digested what had happened.

"Admiral Paris," She whispered. "He sent us out to meet you, you had a tactical officer to send to the _Renegade._"

"Yes." He confirmed. "However, shortly after we picked him up, the _Renegade _sent us a subspace message telling us there would be no rendezvous and I was to bring him to them directly. I knew something was wrong and clued my first officer in. Unfortunately, he was involved and they mutinied. Just a handful of them, but they took over the ship in minutes, blocked off vital systems and executed my senior staff one by one."

Kathryn grimaced, picturing the same fate for hers. "They did this flawlessly and we played right into their hands."

Chakotay stood and eased himself down onto the metal slab beside her. "Are you feeling any better?"

"What did they do to me? I mean…" She stopped, she didn't want to know.

He shrugged and heaved a sigh.

She laid her hand atop his and rested her head on his shoulder, still weak from vomiting and, yes she decided, _at least two cracked ribs_.

"They didn't… _touch you_." He emphasized finally, knowing what she feared.

She managed a smile. "Good. I like knowing that even slime have some self control."

He chuckled at that and pulled his hand out from under hers. Wrapping his arm around her, he pulled her tight. "We need to get out of here, find out if anyone else is alive."

"Five minutes?" She requested with a slight gasp at the pressure of his arm against her.

"Sure." He kissed her forehead, feeling protective, despite his being powerless to stop the barrage of heavy boots and fists that had fallen upon her through the night. "I don't think they're security is the greatest, they seem to be cocky about posting guards and even more loose about maintaining an alert status."

"They had to know this was a highly classified mission, we wouldn't be contacting command. It could be a very long time before they know something is wrong."

He stood, helping her up as he did. "We sent out a beacon as soon as the mutiny started. I'm surprised you didn't pick it up."

Kathryn inched forward beside him, holding her hand against her pained chest as she did. "Let's assume it was destroyed. We're alone, Captain. It's you and me."

He pulled her arm over his shoulder and wrapped his around her waist to support her. "This isn't going to be easy, but from what I gather, there's only fifteen on my ship, fifteen on yours."

She smirked. "I like those odds, better than I've ever had."

He grinned back as they approached the glowing outline of the level two force field. "This on the other hand should be simple." He peeled back the carpeting from the deck plates and fished around for a crack in the floor. Finding one, he picked at the plate, finally popping it up to reveal a whole bundle of wires.

Kathryn leaned against the wall, studying the corridor while Chakotay worked. The pain from the broken ribs was causing her breathing difficulties, and she worried she's be no help to him. They had to find weapons, otherwise she'd be downright useless.

* * *

Justin held his breath for a moment and than let it out. He'd watch them torture Kathryn, searching for information he hadn't given her yet. Despite his protests they continued. They started by electrocuting her, tiny shocks on the fingertips, making her breathing erratic. Than, with each question unanswered, they'd whip her with a leather bound rod. When she cried out with "I don't know!" They'd beat her harder. Finally, they took her away, leaving a trail of blood where they dragged her. Now he sat wondering if they beat her to death somewhere else. They assumed she knew more than the rest, being in command, but that was untrue. He protested, begging them to leave her be, swearing he had the information they needed, but they refused to listen. He watched them try to break her. He admired the strength, the resolve, she let them see the pain but reared up in their faces as though she really did have something to hide. Paris told him if it came down to it, she'd survive anything and give up nothing. He hoped she'd survive.

The rest of the bridge officers had been dragged here, to the little shuttle bay, now empty and surrounded with a low level force field. They were none too worried about security, apparently. Valerie was pacing back and forth, nervous, pent up energy driving her. Only two of his regular crewmen were there, he assumed the others were dead. And only one of Kathryn's cadets, Andrew. Either he was watching them, or they were wrong about him. He looked scared.

Justin motioned him over. "Tell me, Mr. Starlin, how well do you know your friends?"

Andrew sighed. "I don't, they're not my friends. Someone took my little sister and told me to go to Va'Ler and tell her about this transmission to the _Enterprise_. They told me they raped her and would do it again and again until I did what they wanted."

Justin threw his head back and let it hit the wall, intentionally hard startling the rest of the crew. Everyone stared at him.

Andrew dropped his head to his arms and was crying. "This is my fault, I just didn't want them to hurt my sister."

"How did we miss this?" Ena settled herself down in front of Justin and Andrew. "Justin, how did we? He's just a cadet, we should of figured this out." She pointed an accusing finger toward Andrew as her eyes appealed to Justin's experience as an ops agent.

"It's so deep, it's so high." Justin mumbled, eyes squeezed shut.

"I'm sorry." Andrew was repeating it over and over. "I'm so, so sorry."

Valerie rested her hand on the young boy's arm. "It's okay, you were trying to protect your sister."

He kept repeating the apology, unresponsive to Valerie's attempts.

Velt ran his hand through his short hair. "I didn't pick anything up, Justin."

"Yeah, I know." Justin mumbled. "These are rookie mistakes. We should have seen it."

Val shot him a glance, and he had opened his eyes just in time to see it. "Everything happened so fast, Justin. Maybe we should have seen it coming, but I don't think so. There's just too many variables, and besides that, there's several departments working on this, we can't be expected to catch everything with so many hands in the pot, something's bound to slip through the cracks."

"I was right about Va'Ler though."

Val twisted her face at him. "Do you want a pat on the back?"

He sat forward and rested his arm on his knees. "I fed her some information in the corridor before meeting with Kathryn, deliberately. I want to see if she takes the bait."

Val smiled slowly. "You would."

"Since you're such a valued engineer, Val, how's about you get to work on breaking us out." He paused. "_Before_ they can get reinforcements from Remus."

"Aye, Sir." She rolled her eyes as she struggled to her feet and over to the door to examine the force field erected there.

Andrew wiped the tears away and put all thoughts of his sister out of his mind. "Where's Admiral Janeway?"

Justin stared at the kid in front of him, that's what he was, a student who shouldn't be out here. Someone used him and he didn't know who to trust. "They took her to the other ship, I think. They were going to _extract_ information from her."

Andrew frowned and rubbed his mouth and cheek with the back of his hand. "They're hurting her, aren't they?"

Justin paused before nodding slowly. He wasn't in the habit of withholding the truth to spare feelings. Andrew needed to know the ramifications of what happens as a Starfleet officer. "They will kill her, Andrew."

* * *

Chakotay managed to drop the force field and alerts began blaring as it dissipated.

"Brilliant, Captain." Kathryn whispered dryly.

"We have to move." His hushed tone grew concerned as the light of the corridor revealed the shape she was in. There was blood covering portions of her uniform at the waist and around the thigh. He couldn't figure out if it was separate injuries or a lot of blood from the same wound. Her neck had dark bruises where fingers had attempted to choke her and there was a gash across her temple. The bruising on her wrists and fingertips indicated she had gone through more torture than just what he had witnessed. "Oh, Kathryn." He whispered softly, touching the cut.

She winced as he did. "I'll live." She managed with her truest smile.

He took her arm and helped her along toward the nearest Jeffries tubes. He hurried her inside and let her catch her breath.

"I'm gonna slow you down." She confessed, both knowing it.

"Yeah." He breathed. "But I'm not leaving you here either, they'll kill you if they find you."

"They'll kill both of us if I go." She countered, wincing as she shifted position in the tight space. "You have to get the ship back. I don't know just how deep, Chakotay, I don't have all the information, but this is serious."

He yanked a pipe out of an access panel near him, steam forcing out in brief intervals from the gap and he shoved it into her still shaky fingers. "Anyone comes in, hit him."

"I can do that." She smiled confidently and touched his hand softly. "Be careful."

He nodded and made his way down to the end of the Jeffries tube.

* * *

Kathryn sat as still as possible as she listened to the Remans begin a frantic search for their missing prisoners. She knew it wouldn't be long before they'd find her. She gripped the bar tightly and breathed in a slow, steadying breath. She quickly assessed the length of the Jeffries tube and began to slowly slide down to the other end, using her feet to push her rather than attempt to crawl. When she reached the end she located the level directional marker letting her know she was indeed on the 12th deck, the lowest one. She took yet another slow breath, forcing herself to stand despite the pain. She'd have to climb three access ladders to get to any vital areas. She _had_ to, her crew, if they were still alive were depending on her. She slid the bar into the waistline of her pants, just enough to secure it. Gripping the rung at about eye level she held her next breath, knowing the pain she was about to bring on herself. She set her boot carefully on the bottom of the ladder, sliding it forward until it stopped at the heel. Than she lifted her other foot to the rung above it. One at a time, stopping after each move, she ascended two decks before finding it necessary to slump onto the ground, her back against a cool bulkhead.

She gasped to get enough air into her lungs, wondering if they too were damaged from the blows to the chest. She shook the thought off. There would be plenty of time for a trip to Sickbay once they'd retaken the ship. Again, she struggled to her feet and repeated the hand over hand, foot over foot, slowly ascending yet another floor, periodically pausing to check the bar, making sure it was firmly in her waistline. She couldn't afford for it to fall, even just a short way.

* * *

Val was getting frustrated, and it was obvious to the quiet onlookers. She slammed her fist into the wall and sighed before turning. "Justin, there's just not enough wiring on this side to trip a circuit."

"Keep trying." His encouragement did little more than infuriate her.

"I need to help do something." Andrew spoke suddenly. It had been over an hour of near silence from the cadet, save for a few sniffles over the fears for both his favorite Academy Professor and for his little sister. "Please, Commander."

Justin looked at him, a sort of pity on his face. "When I have something you can help with, I'll let you know."

Andrew lapsed back into silence, but kept his head up, watching as Justin went over to calm Valerie.

He whispered in her ear softly. "You're panicking everyone, Val."

"I'm sorry, I just… this is frustrating. It all could have been prevented and now there will be more lives cost rather than saved because we slipped up." She was turning, her fist ready to pound the bulkhead again.

Justin caught it easily in one hand and pulled it down straight. "That's enough, Lieutenant." He hissed.

His face was close to hers and she couldn't help but nod at the order from her superior. "Yes, Sir."

She dropped to one knee and continued fishing through the sea of wiring behind the control panel. Despite her knowledge that it wasn't controlled from this particular plate, she would try her best. Maybe she could overload the whole wall and cause an explosion.

Justin slowly returned to the dozen officers and crew. "Listen up. Two cadets are missing, you know Command's suspicions and so now we operate as though our cover has been compromised. Admiral Paris and the others on the Board expected as much. Now, they've been sent with us under the guise of helping Janeway in order to force the Remans hand and it has. However, the outcome is different than expected. Our first priority is to escape the Shuttle Bay and the second to locate Admiral Janeway. After that we'll attempt a retake of the ship. No assessments of the situation, no speculation as to their plans. No one is to second guess the problem at heand. None of the above will do you good right now. Am I clear?"

The crew vocally confirmed their understanding of his orders.

"Good." He turned back and put a hand on Val's shoulder and gave her a wink. "Keep on it. We need to mount a rescue."

* * *

Chakotay cursed under his breath as he scaled the final access ladder to the Bridge. He wanted nothing more than to stay with Kathryn, make sure she was okay, but the Remans presented him with bigger problems. Everything he did was hinged on Starfleet regulations. As far as those regulations were concerned, he did the right thing by leaving her to sit alone in the Jeffries tube, essentially a sitting duck. He knew she was dead there, if she didn't find the strength to move, they'd find her and kill her like they did his crew. He mumbled yet another curse, followed quickly by a prayer; a plea bargain with his ancestors, spare Kathryn and… he'd do anything for just that. He pushed the manual override for the final hatch and emerged from the Jeffries Tube in the corridor between his ready room and the turbo lift. The Bridge was on the opposite end, past the ready room. He closed his eyes and visualized the layout of the Bridge, trying to imagine where every console was, every Bridge crew's weapon. He inched along the corridor wall as it arched around in a large semi-circle until he reached the doors to the Bridge. He hung back just enough to keep the sensors from triggering the door on his approach. He held his breath and closed his eyes… _A-koochi-moia… _He uttered the beginnings of a prayer to the ancestors yet again. Finally, he opened his eyes and charged through the Bridge doors, mauling the first Reman in his path.

The Reman in command looked horrified as he scrambled for his weapon, but Chakotay was on him faster. Wrapping an arm around his chest, he cupped his hand over the back of the Reman's head and screamed to the other four on the Bridge. "I'll break his neck! Anyone, moves and I'll break his neck!"

The others froze, hands readied near their weapons.

Chakotay backed the commander toward the viewscreen and conn, speaking to the man in low, threatening tones. He glanced behind the conn console as they backed beyond it. The conn officer's weapon was gone. He breathed a curse, blending it with the threats. He was banking on that weapon still being there.

* * *

Kathryn reached Deck three after nearly 45 minutes. It was everything she could do not to cry out loud from the mind numbing pain radiating through her body. She stripped the jacket off revealing her gray tank beneath it and than quickly un-tucked it. It shocked and scared her that she was bleeding again, this time heavier. She knelt on one knee and pressed the side of her face up to the closed Jeffries tube hatch as she tore a strip of the uniform jacket. She balled it up and pressed it into the wound, a muffled cry coming out from between clenched teeth. She repeated this with the deep wound on her hip, the blood from the spilling down her thigh. She used yet another strip to anchor the makeshift gauze pad in place. When she'd stopped feeling dizzy from the sharp pain brought on by tamping down the bleeding she struggled to her feet and keyed the opening to leave the Jeffries tubes. She inched into the corridor, pulling the pipe out of her pants and placing her hands on it as though it were a Bat'Leth and not 3 foot pipe.

She continued down the corridor until she found a wall console already displaying a schematic readout of the ship. This deck did indeed have a vital system, life support. The main components were accessed and repaired on this deck. That did her no good, at least not until the last ditch effort was called for. "Computer, locate Comm- Captain Chakotay." _Freudian slip_. She'd called him Commander as long as she'd known him.

The computer seemed to hesitate as well. "Commander Chakotay is on the Bridge."

"Good." She mumbled before storing the schematics in her own, near photographic memory. She would get to the Bridge from the turbo lift, but the problem lay in the weapons. She was far from familiar with the ship, and didn't want to risk further verbal communication with the computer system. She checked both the transporter room and the galley for stowed weapons.

Nothing.

"It's you and me." She looked down at the pipe. Sighing she moved toward the turbolift. "Computer, where is the nearest Reman life sign?"

"Deck 12."

She grinned. She was three floors at least from the nearest. She keyed in the request for the turbo lift and held her breath as it whisked downward to reach her. She held the pipe back as the doors opened.

Empty.

She slipped in. "Bridge."

It began it's fast ascent from Deck 9 to the Bridge and opened up right there. She had little time to act as the doors revealed Four Remans, with their backs to the turbo lift and Chakotay, holding a Reman in a chokehold near the forward section of the Bridge. She leapt out of the turbolift and swing the pipe up behind the head of the nearest Reman.

_Crack._

She shuddered as the piercing sound of skull fragmenting echoed through the Bridge.

Chakotay watched as Kathryn, in all the pain she had to be feeling, rushed the first and than second of the Remans, the third would have the better of her. "Kathryn!" He shouted in time for her to spin around and duck the phaser fire from the third Reman.

She returned the kindness with a blow to his midsection forcing his fingers to release the weapon. She scooped it up easily and pointed it at the fourth and final. "Do not move. It's set to kill." Her breathing was labored, but her hand was steady.

Chakotay forced his victim to the ground and placed a knee on his back. "Kathryn?" He was watching as her face began to pale, the damaged organs, concussion, broken bones and than some finally catching up to her.

Kathryn turned her head and gave Chakotay a small smile, locking and tossing the phaser toward him.

He jumped up and caught it, spinning to give a visual threatening stance to those around him. He was aware that Kathryn had eased herself to the ground. "Computer, activate EMH and recall to Bridge." He gestured with the phaser to the two Remans struggling to their feet near Kathryn's limp body. "Get away from her! Over there!"

They did as he told, mindful of the deadly weapon in his shaking hands. The rage on his face was pure. They did this to Kathryn and I she didn't live he'd kill every last one of them.

The Doctor assigned to the _Cornelius _at Chakotay's request and who'd been turned off at the beginning of the attack, emerged on the Bridge. "Captain?" He froze as he saw Kathryn's lifeless body lying at his feet. He dropped down and pulled the medkit open in a smooth motion. "I think I can revive her."

His voice sounded hollow in Chakotay's ears. She was gone and the Doctor only _thinks_ he could revive her. His grip on the phaser tightened and his enraged expression twisted into hate. "You better hope he can." He bit the words off as he spoke them.

The Doctor moved Kathryn to lie flat on the deck as he attached a cortical stimulator to the base of her skull. "Come on, Admiral." He breathed as he triggered the device to send electrical waves through her brain. "This is nothing…" He was trying everything at the same time. A small defribulator, the medical hypospray, anything. He hung his head as his finger deafly hit the cortical stimulator button one more time.

Kathryn gasped. It was shallow and breathy, but he considered it "stable enough!" No sooner did he announce it than he had himself and Kathryn beaming to Sickbay.

"Chakotay to Sickbay… Doctor?" Chakotay's voice was hoarse as he all but begged for answers.

"I don't now yet, Commander. She's breathing, I have a steady heartbeat, but there's a lot of injuries, some are life threatening, and she's still unconscious."

Chakotay angled another glare at the remaining Remans. He'd decided the first that Kathryn had gotten to hemorrhaged, if the blue-green blood pouring from his nose and ears were any indication. "Computer, erect level ten force field around subsection B of the Bridge."

The computer responded with a chirp and a blue sparkling energy field that quickly turned invisible. They were boxed in.

"Locate other Remans on board, erect level ten force fields, security clearance Chakotay Beta Six."

The computer again chirped in response.

Chakotay now hesitated. Were there any survivors? "Computer locate and identify any remaining officers or crew on board.

* * *

To Be Continued. . .


	5. Part 5: RESCUE

**Part Five: R-E-S-C-U-E **

Kathryn's eyes burned against a hot white light and she put her hands up to shield it. She feared she'd been captured again, her tormentors back for another round. She gasped as she felt cool metal touch her neck.

"Admiral, it's alright." The Doctor's voice whispered as the hypospray released a muscle relaxer into her blood stream.

She eased her arms down and squinted again. "The light…"

"Computer, lower lights, 15%."

They dimmed and she opened her eyes completely.

"Welcome back. I lost you for a full 8 minutes."

Kathryn moaned as she tried to move more than she should have. "I've been dead before, Doctor."

He nodded. "Well, yes, but you need to relax. I repaired the broken ribs and the damage to your right lung as well as an infection in your upper thigh from dirty weapons… barbarians." He mumbled the last and she shook her head at him.

"I have to help Chakotay."

"No, you don't." He pushed her down easily and held her their. "Doctor's orders."

"Order's be damned." She hissed and forced his arm off. "Doctor, unless you can tell me the crisis on Romulus is over and I'm on my way back to my classroom, I'm going to that Bridge."

"I can't tell you it isn't." He suggested hopefully as she pushed past him, arm holding her side tight.

She swore he caused more pain than had been there. She hurried down the corridor to the turbolift, entering at the same time as two other officers.

Both stood in silence, exchanging glances with each other before the man spoke. "Admiral, what are you doing on the _Cornelius?_"

Kathryn shrugged. "It's a long story, Lieutenant."

He nodded. "I suppose it all is."

The three emerged from the turbolift onto the Bridge.

Chakotay didn't turn as he ordered the two officers to take the living Reman off of the Bridge. He was working at the conn station attempting to assess the _Asteria_ visually as his fingers numbly removed plating from the console.

"She's a tough little ship." Kathryn whispered as she came up behind him.

He turned to her and a grin escaped. "I didn't think you were going to make it." He stood and wrapped her in his arms, holding her as tight as he could for a long moment.

"A people enslaved by the Romulans are hardly my worst enemy, Chakotay, have some faith."

He laughed. "Are you okay to be up here?"

"Not according to the Doctor." She groaned as she eased down at the conn where he was. "However, if you got to sit while working at this station, it's what I want to work on."

He handed her a hydrospanner and smiled. "As soon as we have control of vital systems again we should be able to get on board her."

She looked from him to the _Asteria_, still adrift from the massive assault the night before. "I hope they're okay." She breathed. "I had three _kids _on there."

"Your students?"

She nodded before easing herself lower in the chair to get under the console with the hydrospanner. "If something happens… I mean, Admiral Paris left it up to me… they were my responsibility." She grunted out each line as she fought the bolts on the bottom of the console. The plating finally dropped into her lap and she sighed. She looked up to see Chakotay still watching her.

"Are you close to them?"

"Well, no the semester just started, but that's not the point."

"I know it's not, but it wouldn't help any if you were."

She gave him a wry smile, realizing he was trying to ease her mind. "Nice try."

"Thanks." He smirked as he set his hand gently on her arm. "We have to hurry, it's only a matter of time before they try and contact someone here."

She nodded, agreeing with the urgency and set to work.

* * *

Val grinned as the fo rce field overloaded from the sudden crossing of far too many wires. The panels on both sides of the Shuttlebay doors exploded into a shower of sparks and the doors opened and shut a few times, before settling to a stop halfway. She spun around on her heel and bowed low. "Thank you, thank you."

Eva jumped up to join her as the others stepped to the side warily.

"Ensign!" Justin whisper was loud enough.

She slipped up against the wall, Val moving to stand beside her.

"_Protocol_ has not dropped. You will be cautious of every move. They may or may not be monitoring us."

Ena nodded her understanding and Val inched closer before peeking around through the partially opened doors. She deftly motioned behind her, but did so without turning.

Justin eased past the others and stood opposite Val. "We need to take this one step at a time. They have no idea how to contend with a hostile takeover."

She nodded as she slid out into the corridor, Justin behind her, motioning for the others to take up positions just inside.

Val inched down the straight corridor, mindful of the doors scattered about. The two on her right would not trigger automatically, but the one on the left to the small Sickbay would. She pointed at it, mouthing her thoughts to Justin. Someone could easily be in there.

He pressed his hand slowly against the wall behind him, pointedly making eye contact with each officer following him. They did as he silently commanded, pressing against the wall, each barely avoiding the sensor net that triggers sickbay upon approach.

When they reached the turbolift, Val leaned back to Justin. "I can get to engineering and disable voice commands. They won't be able to use the ship against you, but you can't either."

He nodded. "Take the Jeffries tubes to get there, and take Andrew with you. Something tells me he can vandalize a ship with the best of 'em."

She grinned and reached behind Justin to grab Andrew's arm. "You're with me, kiddo."

* * *

"Damn!"

Kathryn jumped at Chakotay's sudden and loud invective. "What is it?" She whispered, turning almost completely around to face him.

He was staring at a flashing gold light on the panel at the ops station indicating a hail. He raised his eyes to stare at her and blinked, her inquiry not registering.

"Chakotay?" She eased carefully out of the chair and made her way back to him.

"We're out of time." His focus cleared some and he held his hand up to stop her. She was still weak and didn't need to come all the way up.

She ignored him and stepped to his side. "Beam me over."

He shook his head as options ran through his mind.

"Chakotay… now. If anyone's alive over there, they won't be after you answer it. Beam. Me. Over."

He held her eyes with his for a moment longer before allowing himself to reach over and touch the bruises on her neck and traced his fingers up her cheek bone to where the deep cut ran across her temple. He turned to the panel, not wiping the errant tear trickling down. He reached beneath the console and unhooked one of the phasers and shoved it into her hands. He than looked back up at her and pulled her into a fierce hug, ignoring the gasp as he undoubtedly caused her pain. "Spirits help them if they so much as touch you."

When he pulled back, she saw more tears chasing the first down his cheek. Last time she'd seen such sadness on him was when she had watched herself die in his arms, many, many years ago. She used the very tip of her fingers to wipe them away before nodding behind her to the Tactical station. "If you don't hear from me… the Remans can't keep her… she's heavily armed, and more advanced than theirs by a hundredfold. You will be forced to destroy her. Please, for me, don't hesitate."

He nodded cautiously as his finger waited over the site-to-site transport button.

"Energize." She whispered as confidently as she could, fingers gripping the phaser with every bit of strength in them. As the blue deconstructed her matter, she saw the tears harder.

Chakotay felt like his legs were going to give out as he let himself down into the seat behind him. He had beamed her into engineering, the shielding there was patchy enough to get her through, but there were life signs, although he couldn't make them out as Reman for sure. He watched the light continue to flash. He had to stall them.

* * *

Valerie led Andrew down the access ladder to the connecting points of the Jeffries tube. Fifty more feet of tight spaces and closed air and they'd be in engineering. She hit the last release on the final hatch and choked on the steam that gushed forward at her.

Andrew grabbed her by the waste and pulled her back in.

She fell against him, her hands covering obvious burns from the hot steam and she bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood. If she gave in, the screams would alert the Remans. She cupped both hands over her mouth and sobbed quietly before a low moan of pain escaped.

The pained sound triggered a reaction from someone in engineering and they heard the sound of boots on metal rushing towards the Jeffries tube. The someone climbed the ladder to the second level of engineering above them.

Andrew had stripped the top layer of his uniform off and he wrapped it around Val's hand.

She watched quietly now, not having realized her hand had been hit as well. The vision in her left eye was blurry and she imagined the steam having singed the cornea as it hit her face. She gasped again despite her effort to hold back.

"Val?" The whisper on the other side was deep and familiar as it replaced the sound of hot steam being forced through a cracked pipe.

Andrew forced the door open and practically leapt over Valerie and into Kathryn's arms. "Admiral! You're alive!"

She smiled, despite the pain from the stronger hug than Chakotay had given. "Ssh…" She whispered as she removed Andrew's arms. "Mostly." Her eyes sparkled at the slight joke.

Andrew grabbed Val's arm and helped her out, Kathryn supporting her other side.

Val wanted to curl up in a bal and die, the pain was growing worse as the hot air from the uncirculated systems hit her.

They got her away from the dead core and open vents and eased her down against a cooler bulkhead.

Kathryn looked up at Andrew. "Find an emergency med kit, probably on the other side of the access ladder."

Andrew did as he was told and returned moments later with the kit.

She popped it open and fished for the dermal regenerator as Val's nails dug into her knee. She ignored it, having felt much, much worse in the past 24 hours . Turning it on she held it carefully near her eye, letting the laser heal the burnt tissue.

Bit by bit the pain was subsiding and Valerie released her grip from Kathryn.

Kathryn helped her sit up straighter. "Can you see out of that one?" She asked quietly, covering Valerie's good eye.

"Not well, but a little."

Kathryn groaned. "If I try and do anything with it, I'm liable to blind you."

Val looked up at the older woman and tried to chuckle. "Than by all means, leave it be."

Kathryn nodded at the attempted humor before turning to Andrew. "Va'Ler and Phoebe?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, Admiral. The last I saw them was on the Bridge before I went to the galley for dinner."

She exhaled, expecting as much. "What about everyone else?"

Val supplied the answer. "There's only a dozen officer's left. Justin took the rest to the Bridge to try and retake the ship, Andrew and I were going to vandalize it if they couldn't."

Kathryn returned her attention to Andrew who was studying her injuries closely, including the large blood stains still on her uniform. He looked concerned. "I'm alright." She whispered, catching his eye and staring at him hard.

"It's… my fault." He confessed. It was one thing to have told Justin and the other intelligence officers, it was another entirely to admit it to someone he admired and looked up to, someone he'd caused so much pain. "I had to start it all. I-" He choked on that one.

Kathryn was giving him her full attention, wondering how much of Justin's fears about Va'Ler really applied to Andrew.

He swallowed hard and continued. "I told Va'Ler and Phoebe about your contact with the _Enterprise_. My dad doesn't know anyone on board, I don't even _have_ a father. I made it up. I had to play it, get Va'Ler to want to be involved."

Kathryn couldn't believe it. This lazy cadet had her from the beginning. "I don't know what to say, Andrew, except that Starfleet's not going to take well to this."

His head dropped at her subtle rebuke, knowing it would have been far worse had she not been caught so off guard. He regretted hugging her knowing she thought it all fake.

Kathryn stood. "Stay here with her. Don't move, Andrew, stay put." She looked at Val who was watching Andrew with a sympathy Kathryn didn't understand. "I'm going to help Commander Gardner." With that she left.

* * *

Chakotay keyed the comm link, the small visual popping up in front of him at the ops station. He had found most of his composure again and remained silent as the image of the Reman commander on the _Asteria_ appeared before him.

"Where's Ratheel?" He seethed.

Chakotay didn't not respond for a moment. He braced one foot against the base of the chair and rocked himself to the side as though he'd been kicked. He growled a curse under his breath.

The Reman studied him a moment before smiling. "They're putting you to work?" He laughed, a cold menacing sound. "Ahha! Well, I was wondering, Mr. Chakotay… have you seen your Admiral? She was beaten well."

Chakotay didn't have to fake the flash of pain as he remembered watching them beat her mercilessly. "Reman, _PetaQ_!" He ground the Klingon curse out, meaning it.

The Reman sobered his expression. "Okay, enough of these games. Ratheel!" It was an order, not a request and Chakotay realized his time was up.

As he was about to attempt furthering the ploy, he saw two Starfleet officers emerge from the turbolift, phasers firing at all on the Bridge.

He jumped to his feet. They must have already been out, Kathryn hadn't had enough time to find them, not from engineering, but there she was right behind them, her phaser trained on the Reman who'd been talking to Chakotay.

* * *

"Look at me." She hissed.

The Reman turned slowly, a sort of fear in his expressions.

"I want to know your contact's name. Is it Andrew Starlin?"

He laughed, the sound void of any feeling. "No, but we've killed his sister. Spared no pain, spared no suffering. You can tell him that his failure caused that. Caused her a violent end."

Kathryn felt some confusion, but maintained her stance as Justin clamped cuffs over his hands and held him tight. Kathryn dropped the phaser to her side and approached them. "Explain yourself." Her voice was tight as she began to realize what Andrew had endured.

"Someone had to transmit commands to our contact. He was the bridge." The Reman seemed unconcerned with sharing information, clearly not trained to withhold anything.

"You took his sister to get him to work for you?" She didn't need to ask. "Can you confirm she's dead?"

"A fifteen year old child can only endure so much…. Physical duress, Admiral." His cracked and graying teeth showing in his snarl as he spit at her feet.

Justin shoved him toward the turbolift, taking command of the situation regardless of whether Kathryn was finished with him or not.

She breathed slowly, steadying herself against the admission of what had become of Andrew's sister. Finally she turned to the view screen and smiled at Chakotay who was studying her carefully. "They didn't need me."

He laughed. "I'm just glad your still alive _Admiral_. I fully expected never to see you again."

"If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, _Captain_, you can't get rid of me so easily."

* * *

To be continued…. It's not over yet…. The _Renegade_ is still out there.


	6. Part 6: Old Friend

**Part 6: Old Friend**

Chakotay sat quietly in the _Asteria's_ briefing room, going over the crew manifest of both ships. He'd been surprised to find out how many of his crew actually did survive, lessening his faith in internal ships' sensors. He still had 80 remaining on his crew of 170. Less than half, but a considerable amount none the less. The _Asteria_ had lost 30, only a dozen officer's on the small ship remained, plus the imprisoned cadets. He thumbed through each PADD back and forth until the opening doors caused him to turn.

"Chakotay, this is Commander Justin Gardner." Kathryn made the brief introduction as they joined him at the table.

"Pleasure, Captain." Justin smiled tightly. "I'm sincerely sorry that your crew was caught up in this…" He paused.

Neither Chakotay nor Kathryn spoke, knowing Justin's thoughts. _If both crews had more information…_

"This went wrong from the beginning, on everyone's parts, but especially Starfleet's. We were all rushed through this." Kathryn's features were more relaxed than Justin's. "But, what's done is done."

"We've detained two on our ship." Justin commented, attempting to side step the grief for the moment. "Two of the Admiral's cadets were involved, although we're not sure how deep, and we don't know about Phoebe McKeith, she's in critical condition."

Kathryn took in a shallow breath. "Chakotay, were you able to get any information out of the relief officer for the _Renegade_?"

Chakotay shook his head. "The Doctor has refused to wake him. He's in a medical induced coma and if we pull him out of it, The Doctor believes we'll lose him."

Justin rubbed his eyes. "We could use your support as we confront the _Renegade_, Captain. What's the status of your ship?"

"The _Cornelius_ faired well but my phasers are down and my engineer tells me it'll take dry dock to get them working. My support would only be so helpful."

"Perhaps for appearance sake?" Kathryn interjected.

"Show of strength?" Chakotay nodded as he locked eyes with her. "We have four more days to the Neutral Zone, the Doctor wants you back in Sickbay for some of that at the least. He's concerned his quick fixes won't hold out and that you might have some internal injuries yet."

Kathryn turned from both men and stared out the viewport. "I feel like hell." She confessed quietly. "I won't deny that, but I have a lot to do here."

Justin added his own in assistance to Chakotay. "Kathryn, if you drop on the Bridge from internal bleeding, you'll get less done than if you just go to Sickbay."

Chakotay stifled a building chuckle and she shot each of them a look.

"I'm _going_." She stressed as she turned on a heel and left for the transporter room.

Chakotay stayed behind as Justin brought him up to speed on the intelligence reports regarding the _Renegade._

* * *

Kathryn winced as the Doctor tugged her shirt off and replaced it with the light blue medical gown. "All these years and your bedside manner still leaves a lot to be desired. I thought Kes would have worn off on you." She muttered.

"Your force of Mr. Paris on me following her departure countered all of it." He leaned close to her ear. "Oh, Admiral, you've been relieved of duty."

She started to protest as he grinned at her, than he held up a hand.

"Just until we've arrived at the Neutral Zone. You'll need rest."

She shoved him, a smirk beginning to form on her face. "And you wonder why I hate Doctors."

He pressed a small dose hypospray against her bruised neck. "A mild sedative for pain."

"Just don't know me out." She pleaded. "I plan to follow up on the reports from the _Asteria_."

He nodded as he began scans of her internal organs. "Lay down please."

She chuckled slightly. "Would that help?"

"I thought it would have been apparent you should have." He supported her shoulders with one arm as he helped her lie down. "Now, don't move."

"Aye, sir." She mumbled, feeling the exhaustion as soon as she body released the tension she'd bottled up.

* * *

Andrew paced the small confines of the Deck 5 Brig, a nervous energy building. He'd been sharing the tiny space with Va'Ler, who'd been attempting meditation. Finally he interrupted her. "I need to talk. I can't just sit quietly here until we get back to earth."

"You have to 'sit quietly'." She kept her eyes closed, fingers clasped except for the two index ones which were pointed out in steeple form.

"I take it you don't want to chat?" He stopped pacing as he watched her.

"Mr. Starlin, I would appreciate discretion in your interruptions of my meditation. In short, don't do it." There was an edge to the Half Vulcan's voice that startled Andrew. He'd been around a lot of Vulcans, even young ones don't let that icy tone break through.

He watched her a moment longer as her features melted back into the passive neutral of her culture. He spun around and approached the force field. "Sir, I need to speak with Admiral Janeway."

The Lieutenant rolled his eyes and hit his commbadge. "Brig to Admiral Janeway."

No response.

"Brig to Commander Gardner."

"Gardner here, go ahead, Mr. Stevens."

"Mr. Starlin has requested to speak to the Admiral, no answer on her comm."

Andrew continued his pacing during the pause on the Commander's end.

"No, she's off ship for the moment, and off-duty until we arrive. Request denied."

Stevens shrugged in Andrew's direction. "I'm sorry, Kid."

Andrew sank onto the bench opposite Va'Ler's and he continued to watch her, suddenly curious about the woman he'd been sent to report to that day in the Academy gardens. He closed his eyes remembering it.

* _"You will do this, or your sister will die." The crisp Romulan voice bit out at him._

"_I don't understand!" Andrew sobbed, his hands grasping the desk in his small student dorm room. "Prove to me you have her!"_

_The Romulan pulled the frightened teenager to the screen, her shirt was torn and her skirt was stained with blood. "Proof enough?"_

"_Lyssa…." He whispered as he touched the screen with his fingertips. "God, don't hurt her!"_

"_Do what you're told and we'll release her." The Romulan pulled Lyssa against him, and he ran his tongue up the side of her face. "Hurt, Andrew Starlin, is a matter of opinion."_

_The screen went black. "No!" He pounded the desk in front of him and sank down to his knees. Who could he tell? The Romulan indicated higher ups were involved and they wanted Janeway. Could she be involved too?_

_He caught his breath and stood up. The contact. She'd be leaving her final class soon. He grabbed a fresh tee and pulled it on as he ran out the door. He had to find the Vulcan._

_She was leaving the building now. He ran to meet her._

"_Va'Ler!" He took a calming breath, running through the orders he was given, exactly what he had to say. The codes. "Va'Ler, my _father_ called and we were chatting, you know that stuff going on in Romulus?"_

"_On Romulus." She corrected coldly as she sat on a bench, her friend Phoebe sitting next to her. _

"_Whatever." He waved it off. "Anyway, he told me that his friend on the Enterprise heard Admiral Janeway sent them orders to break the Neutral Zone through sector ten or something and proceed to Romulus to meet with the Remans leader."_

"_Are you sure it's ten?"_

_That caught Andrew off-guard. She must have been waiting for this. They said she'd question it. "Umm, yeah, near outpost 43 in sector ten."_

_She nodded. "We need to speak to Admiral Janeway. She has connections, perhaps we could help with something."_

_Phoebe chimed in. "I saw her go into Professor Tuvok's office, she could be a while."_

"_We can wait." Va'Ler opened an old book, one of the Admiral's reading assignments no doubt. Admiral Janeway ascribed to the strangest practices in her assignments.*_

Andrew wiped some tears away, remembering the fear in his sister's eyes and his convictions. He had to save her. What would happen now that he was in the Brig?

* * *

Chakotay's voice echoed through her thoughts and she spun around frantically, scanning a large crowd for his face. Where was he? She couldn't see him?

_Chakotay!_ She was screaming his name as she spotted a muscular Reman dragging him away. _No, please! Chakotay! Don't hurt him, please let him go!_ She tried to move, but her feet didn't listen.

Kathryn sat up gasping for air and pulling at the tight and sweaty collar of the medical gown. The tears were real as was the screaming apparently. Her throat was hoarse and both Chakotay and the Doctor were rushing over to her.

The Doctor called for the computer to raise the lighting and Chakotay wrapped his arms around her.

She pushed the tricorder the Doctor had whipped out away from her. "I was dreaming, not possessed." She growled at him.

Satisfied with whatever scans he had managed, he set the tricorder down and returned to the other side of Sickbay.

Kathryn pushed Chakotay back a little as she caught her breath. She let her eyes wander over the filled bio beds. The _Cornelius_ was better equipped for triage and emergencies than the _Asteria_ so all critical had been brought here. She spotted Val, and Phoebe…

Chakotay was rubbing her shoulder gently, almost unnoticed until her gaze returned to his. "Tell me…" He whispered.

She managed a smile and filled him in on the horrific looking Reman that had pulled him away.

"Well, you're okay now." He had a soothing touch and his smile always had a power over her she couldn't explain. _Perhaps it had started on New Earth…_

She sighed and let her head fall to the side. "Do you think your crew would object to me wandering the corridors in a medical gown?"

Chakotay grinned. "Anyone up at 0300 hours better be at their duty stations."

"Oh, Chakotay, you should be asleep!" She announced in a hush tone to keep the Doctor from scolding her about fellow patient etiquette.

He heard her regardless. "That's what I keep telling him. He insists he must stay at your side." The Doctor was muttering, her favorite of his human habits.

Chakotay ignored the Doctor altogether as he held his elbow up for her to take. She did and slid her small feet into the Starfleet boots at the bedside. Her appearance caused a delighted smile to spread on his face. Tangled hair, blue gown and matching pants, black military issue boots.

She gave him the look of death as she slid her hand from his elbow and slipped it around his waste.

"You're usually so kept." He whispered. "I love seeing you like this."

She smacked his chest with her free hand.

He pushed her hair behind her ears and escorted her out of Sickbay. "It looks cute." He added daringly.

"You're awake why?" She changed the subject back.

"Every time I close my eyes I see them kicking you, hurting you." He sighed. "It's hard to rest while your best friend is being beaten."

"I know the feeling." She mumbled referring to her own dream. "The difference is, I apparently got a few hours in first."

He pulled her close as they continued to wander the deck.

She relaxed into his embrace, enjoying the silence they hadn't shared in a while.

Finally he spoke. "One of your cadets was looking for you. He wanted to speak to you. Gardner decided not to tell you."

"As a First Officer, he's worse than you." She groaned before stopping in the corridor. "I have to tell him."

"Tell who what?" Chakotay stared at her.

"Andrew, about his sister. He deserves to know."

"There will be time." He put both hands on her shoulders. "Kathryn, don't push yourself yet. Your injuries were serious, some were going to become fatal. You owe it to yourself to rest. When the mission is over you can tell him."

She shook her head. "No, I need to do it right away. First thing in the morning." She looked up into his dark eyes and smiled. "Justin won't take too kindly to you telling me."

Chakotay returned the smile. "It's okay, I still outrank him."

She nodded, suddenly noticing they were at the turbolift and he had keyed it. "taking me away?"

He led her in. "Deck 2."

"Your quarters?" She teased.

"Innocent, I promise." He held his hands up laughing.

She settled onto his couch as he searched his private bedroom area. "Ahha!" He announced as he came out, proudly holding a wool blanket with earthen colors woven through it. He draped it over her, pulling it up under her neck. "I'd hate to deny you coffee, but I don't want to give any to you either."

She held a hand up. "I don't even trust water right now, but thank you." She gave him a soft smile.

He eased down next to her and leaned against her, pulling her tight against him. She pushed the blanket's edge over his lap and snuggled up to him further.

"Were you worried about me?" She asked quietly.

"I still am, Kathryn. You've been through so much these couple of days."

She covered a yawn with a closed fist. "I suppose I need worry from someone."

He pushed her backwards to lie down on the couch and settled in behind her, his chin resting on the top of her hair. It only took a second to find a comfortable position where neither felt crowded and she didn't fear rolling off. As soon as they were still, they both fell asleep.

* * *

To be continued….. Added that bit of drabble about two old friends, I thought it necessary after such an ordeal plus a nod to you JCers. More substance in the next chapter ;) Thanks for the feedback.


	7. Part 7: Renegade Starfleet

**Part 7: Renegade Starfleet**

Kathryn opened her eyes to find herself still in Chakotay's safe embrace. "Computer, time?"

"0832 hours, 11 seconds." It responded promptly.

Later than she'd hoped. "Chakotay..? Chakotay, it's _past _morning." She smiled to herself. She used to start the day at 0800, now with her Academy schedule she was lucky to sleep until 0530. "Chakotay." She nudged him this time.

"Hmm?" His eye lids remained glued down as he groaned his response.

"I'm going back to Sickbay."

"Voluntarily?" He opened one eye to see her beautiful smile as she looked back at him.

"To retrieve my uniform. I have to talk to Andrew, if that's all the Doctor will let me do."

He nodded. "Yes, I think that's all you'll get away with. I'll come with you, stress the importance and promise to keep you otherwise duty-less."

They both struggled off the couch, bodies instantly regretting the loneliness of being away from another.

She turned back to face him and found herself wrapped in his arms, his chin on her head. "Thank you." She whispered. "I don't know how well I would have slept alone in Sickbay."

* * *

Justin was waiting for Kathryn as she materialized on the platform. "You look like you're feeling much better."

"I am." She smiled as she stepped down. "I'm told Andrew wanted to speak to me?"

Justin hesitated before nodding. "Yes, he did. Who contacted you?"

She winked. "Seven years I served with Chakotay, he keeps nothing from me."

He dropped his head and shook it before looking back up to catch her eye. "I suppose that's what I get for holding him back in the briefing room so long."

"Can you arrange it for me?"

"Absolutely." He nodded. "Are you going to humor him in this?"

They had reached the turbolift and she stepped in turning back to halt the doors before they could shut. "I'm going to tell him about his sister."

Andrew paled as Justin lowered the forcefield and took him by the arm. "She has to speak to you, you will listen, and listen only."

* * *

He cocked his head in question as Justin signaled for the guard to seal Va'Ler in. Than he supplied the answer. "You've hurt her enough. Leave the details for your trial."

Andrew kept his face to the ground the whole trip to the briefing room.

"Thank you, Commander." Admiral Janeway's voice echoed softly across the room, but she hadn't turned from the viewport. "Please sit, Mr. Starlin."

He did, but kept his head down as they were left alone.

"I understand there was some coercion to the decisions you've made over the past few weeks."

He nodded.

"The Romulans used you by kidnapping your sister?"

He heard her voice tighten as she spoke and he looked up, tears building. "They killed her didn't they?"

Kathryn turned from the viewport and her heart broke for him as he buried his face in his hands.

"I just wanted to protect her. I didn't mean for you to get hurt!"

She went to his side of the table and knelt down in front of him. "I am so sorry, Andrew. I know how close you were, how much you loved her."

"She was _my_ responsibility, Admiral." He took a shaky breath. "I didn't care about anything else, when they told me they had her… all I knew is I had to save her life."

Kathryn nodded. She couldn't tell him she understood, she couldn't tell him there were 160 people through the Federation and Starfleet she would sacrifice the galaxy for. "They're going to send you to a rehab facility."

"Prison." He corrected grimly, a sudden distance to his gaze. "I'll take it, Admiral. I got two ships attacked, so many people dead, my sister killed… and you…"

She silenced him as she wrapped her arms around him in a strong hug. "You received threats putting you under extreme duress, they may lighten things." She fell back unto her heals and stared at him until his slow breaths managed to calm the rest of him. Than she tapped her commbadge. "Janeway to Security."

"Admiral, there's something I need to tell you…" There was a sudden urgency in his tone.

"Go ahead, Admiral." The officer on duty responded.

"It's _important_ I think…." Andrew trailed off.

"Come get Mr. Starlin. Janeway out." She watched Andrew fidget slightly before he looked up.

He locked his gaze on hers and he became completely still. "It's Va'Ler, something's not _Vulcan_ about her behavior."

Security entered the briefing room and she stood, nodding towards Andrew. Starfleet could worry about the Half-Vulcan in her brig, but for now she had the final phase of a mission to complete.

* * *

- 2 Days Later ... Location... The Romulan Federation Neutral Zone -

"Approaching the Neutral Zone, Admiral." Justin fell easily between casual and protocol easily.

She stepped with a slow purpose from the Turbolift down to Command Level. "Red alert. Tactical, what is the _Cornelius'_ position?"

"Dropping out of warp now, just to starboard." Ena responded.

"Ensign Velt, slow to half impulse and proceed to the _Renegade's _coordinates."

"Aye, Admiral. Low impulse." The Betazoid answered with a crisp tone.

Justin glanced to the rear of the Bridge and added his own command. "Confirm commlink?"

The ops Lieutenant nodded. "Link to the _Cornelius_ confirmed."

Kathryn directed her attention to the back of the Bridge as well. "Send out a standard Starfleet hail when we're in range. Let them know we're here with their replacement."

Justin raised on eyebrow as they both sat. "Going to play it up, Kathryn?"

"There's no record of the Remans communicating from either us nor the _Cornelius_. It's a safe bet Captain Freemont has no idea his cohorts jumped the gun on this one."

He returned her confidence with a grin.

"All systems go." Tactical reported. "All ready, Admiral."

"Chakotay?" She spoke slightly louder to get the other Captain's attention.

"All ready here, _Admiral."_

She grinned at the stress he'd put on her rank. For the past two years the only contact they'd had was personal and he enjoyed teasing her. She paused purposefully before smirking at Justin. "Battle stations." This time they'd be ready.

"You're way into this." Justin commented wryly as the officers on deck sprung about to ready the ship for any scenario.

"Of course."

"Hailing now, Admiral." Ops reported suddenly.

"Do it." Kathryn fell silent, picking through her next words carefully.

"The_ Renegade_ is responding, Admiral."

"On screen." She felt her throat tighten as the image of Captain Richard L. Freemont pixilated in front of her. She'd had her fill of turncoats for the year at least. _Friend. Play friend. _She repeated to herself as her winning diplomatic side finally rescued her. "Ahh, there you are, Captain. Our sensors have taken a beating and I was afraid we wouldn't be able to locate you."

"Admiral Janeway." Freemont returned her diplomatic tone. "It's a real pleasure to finally meet you. You do look like you've had an unfortunate run in. May we be of assistance?"

_Slice the jugular. _"No, sir. The _Cornelius_ lent aid during our rendezvous. There was a volatile group of Remans who apparently crept over the border without notice, but all's handled, unfortunately it took phasers on kill to stop them." The tightness she was feeling served her well, after all, a Starfleet officer wouldn't just _kill_ her enemy.

"We didn't detect anyone crossing the border, Admiral, otherwise this unfortunate incident may have been avoided."

"Romulus as tense as it is has everyone a bit distracted, Captain."

"So, Admiral, two Fleet ships for one tactical officer?"

With his inquiry, Kathryn felt her cover vanishing. "As you commented earlier, Captain, my ship was damaged during our little _run in_. Captain Chakotay's continued assistance was appreciated."

He studied her a moment before a slight movement of his hand ended transmission on his end.

"Reinforce forward shields." She hissed.

She no sooner had the order out than the ship banked to the side, rocked by a volley of phaser fire.

"Shields at 85%!" Ena managed between blasts.

"Target their shields and weapons system and fire at will!" Kathryn shouted back the order as she gripped Ensign Velt's chair.

Both ships responded to the order as the released a cascade of energy at the _Renegade._

"Open a channel!" She managed as she steadied herself.

"Channel open, Admiral!"

Justin stepped up to Kathryn's side, the subtle support she was looking for.

"Captain Freemont, your phasers are damaged, your targeting systems are malfunctioning," she was reading the report off of the conn's mini screen. "You have minimal shields, life support is failing. Surrender yourself to us."

"I'd as soon be destroyed." The harsh words echoed back.

"And what of those innocent serving beneath you?"

"He closed the channel, Admiral." Ops reported, just above a whisper.

Ena chimed in smugly. "There's a distress call going out on a triaxulating Romulan frequency."

Kathryn ignored it, knowing any of his Romulan allies on the border colonies were already on their way. "Tractor him."

The blue field leapt from the _Asteria_ and engulfed the other ship.

"Kathryn?" Chakotay's voice came over the commlink.

"You're clear, Chakotay." She answered as she crossed her arms tight over her chest.

His voice echoed on his bridge as he ordered a boarding party to beam over. "They're in." He reported after a moment.

She tapped her commbadge. "Val, are you ready?"

"Yes, Admiral. As soon as we're cleared, I'm set." The normal frustration in Valerie's voice had been replaced with enthusiasm as she prepared a team to beam over and repair any damage they'd caused.

"Open a broadband frequency, Federation signature." The Lieutenant nodded and she began. "This is Admiral Kathryn Janeway calling any Federation ship in the area, please assist."

"One response, Admiral."

"On screen."

"Admiral, I'm Captain O'Cleary, what have you be needin' from us?" His thick Scottish accent brightened her instantly.

"Good to see a friendly face, Captain, we could use a brig." Kathryn's hands found their usual place on her hips and she smiled at the other officer.

"We're an hour off, but we'll be there. O'Cleary out."

Justin whispered to her from where he still stood. "Any loyal Starfleet will join with Chakotay's boarding party and help detain prisoners until we have the help we need."

She turned her face from the screen and offered a slide upward turn of her lip. "We lost a lot of people, but we may have saved even more, Commander."

* * *

Kathryn sat in the briefing room, sipping on coffee finally allowed by the Doctor as she stared across the table at both Chakotay and Justin as well as Captain O'Cleary.

"I still can't believe it." O'Cleary was shaking his head, repeating the shocked expression over and over. "One or two maybe." He added. "But we have fifteen in our Brig, three in yours and another dozen in his." He nodded over to Chakotay.

"It was well orchestrated." Kathryn answered. "They played us well, but we still won."

"This hand." O'Cleary quipped. "And what of the Enterprise? Any news?"

Kathryn smiled softly. "The only news I had was released reports from immediately before we shipped out. They were listening to Shinzon's demands and investigating the details of the Senate attack."

"How else can I help, Admiral?" O'Cleary leveled his eyes to hers.

Justin pushed a PADD between them so Captain O'Cleary could review it. "If you could accompany us back to Earth, we'd appreciate it. Intelligence and Command won't settle for just any old Starbase."

"Is this cleared with Command?"

Kathryn shook her head. "No, but it will be within 24 hours. We need to get moving, so if it falls through, I'll take responsibility for it. Your _objection_ will be noted." She winked.

"Not an objection, Admiral, I just don't have the orders to do so."

Kathryn sighed. "Consider it an order, Captain."

He shrugged and grinned, content with being ordered to accompany them. "I'll be back to my ship than."

Kathryn bit her tongue as he left before noticing Chakotay d Justin looked amused. "What?"

"You need to be quite _direct_ with him." Justin teased.

"Apparently." Kathryn groaned as she realized they were making fun of her, and had been through most of the conversation. "Get out!" She growled. "Both of you!"

They broke into laughter and left the briefing room.

As soon as they were gone, she allowed herself a small smile, one she wouldn't dare give them the satisfaction of seeing.

* * *

A Final Chapter to come, will be up on Monday, thanks to everyone


	8. Part 8: Starfleet Headquarters,San Diego

*I've always considered the relationship Kathryn Janeway and Owen Paris had to be a pretty good one, especially following _Mosaic_. So, little tapping in on that bond (maybe almost father/daughter given her losses?).

**Part 8- ****Starfleet Headquarters, San Diego**

Kathryn stood in Admiral Paris' office, hands clasped behind her back as she stared out into the beautiful city. The sleek metal skyscrapers reflected the early morning sun back into the sky, giving off a beautiful glow. His first floor office was envied by most, easy in, easy out, always a bustle of business. Now she was waiting patiently as he went over her and Justin's reports regarding the entire mission. He sighed with each new PADD grunting over the details, before moving to Chakotay's and Captain O'Cleary's slightly simplified reports.

He cleared his throat at long last. "I like how you handled this, Admiral Janeway. Every bit of it, however there was a lot of lost lives." Paris peered over at her as she maintained her position at the window, not moving. He frowned slightly and sat up a bit. "Kathryn?"

She turned, having heard every word, and every grunt over the last two hours as he reviewed the details. "Admiral, loss of life is to be expected when you rush through preliminary of a mission, especially one like this."

He watched her closely, his concern for her not ebbing. "It worked as planned."

"Pl-planned?" Shock registered on her face as she stumbled over the word.

He set the PADD on his glass topped desk and watched her blue eyes turn from surprise to a hot anger. "Kathryn, I wish I had time to brief you fully, I really do. I hate pulling things on my people and I told intelligence you'd be upset with it. We fully expected you and Commander Gardner to be able to _ad lib _so to speak as it occurred. We were hoping to flush out the contacts, even knew at least one of those students was an operative, but I am surprised by it, I didn't expect both of them."

She slumped down in the chair across from him. "My report was technical, Admiral, perhaps if I give you some details to take back to Command it will deter reprehensible _behavior_ in the future." She held up her finger. "First, Phoebe McKeith, turns out is just an innocent bystander, or she was until someone slit her throat in a darkened corridor. She was in the _Cornelius'_ Sickbay hanging on - barely- and than crashed and bled out while the Doctor attempted to save her life. Oh, and than there's Val, who's valiant efforts to retake the _Asteria _ended in 3rd degree burns across her face. They're still trying to decide if they can repair the damage to her corneal nerves so she can see completely." She was holding a second finger and than a third as she rattled off names, one by one along with the injuries they sustained or their deaths respectively.

He watched and listened until she ran out of steam and pursed his lips in thought. "And than there's you…. According to Captain Chakotay's report you went through hell, Kathryn, his Doctor's reports stated you nearly died from likely to have be fatal injuries. And you still look like your in some pain."

"I tend to ignore the demands of my Doctor, although he was satisfied enough to let me leave." She confessed softly, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "I think this was not worth leaving us in the dark to 'flush them out,' with all due respect." She leaned forward, going where she hadn't in a long time. "Sir, you _know_ I wasn't prepared for this, I can't fly blind!"

"You need to let go of that past, Kathryn, if you plan to continue service this way."

"I don't want to serve like this, it's beyond my capacity to go into it. I need a game plan, a mission with structure, I need all the information. I can extrapolate from there if necessary, but don't send me in half cocked. I'm not an intelligence officer for a _reason." _She pressed her hands against the table and stared at him.

"I would use you again if needed, you did well." He mumbled.

"That's not the point. I hate it. I watched people die, and this is beyond mission casualties. Between the _Asteria _and _Cornelius' _I loss less lives in the Delta Quadrant in _seven - years._ And on top of it, I had to face my own students after they betrayed everything I've believed in."

He smiled at her gently. "Do you remember during the Arias Expedition, after we left the ship? When the Cardassians fired on us, disabling the shuttle and we were in a spiral?"

She raised an eyebrow at the changed tone. "Easily counted among the most frightening moments of my career, Admiral."

"What did I tell you, Kathryn?"

She paused, not to think of what it was, that she remembered vividly, but to anticipate his direction and reason. "Not to be a hero." She finally returned.

He nodded, his deep eyes reflecting the pain he still carried from that terrible mission, the pain she clung to as well. "What did I mean by that?"

"Withholding information from them just wasn't that damn important." She reached out and laid her hand atop his. "Thankfully for the mission's sake they didn't ask me anything of importance, I'm sure I wouldn't have been nearly as strong as you."

He chuckled, turning his hand over to hold hers, resting his other shaky one on top of both. "Have you imparted such inspirations and wisdoms on your students?" Coming from any other Admiral, it would be an accusation. Teach someone to disregard confidentiality to preserve a life? That was laughable, maybe a court martial offense.

"No but I've said similar to some of the junior officers under me through the years.. Harry Kim, to Tom..." She reflected momentarily back to the shuttlecraft where Mortimer Harran nearly lost his life. She remembered yelling over the communication link for him to get resume his course, upset that'd sacrifice himself. "I suppose I shared that sentiment with a lot of people, for one reason or another."

"I feel that's what Mr. Starlin seems to have gotten from his brief student career, and he didn't get it from Tuvok's logical theorem class." He offered, hinting at his direction finally.

Her eyes softened and she saw the truth in what he was saying. "I can help him."

"I think you can, Kathryn. If you learned anything from me, perhaps it's that."

She looked down at the hands holding hers, the fine lines, and wrinkles, scars from years of fixing burnt cooling injectors and spent plasma casings. "Definitely not from Tuvok's class."

He laughed, his eyes lighting up at her ability to find good while reminiscing about the traumatizing past they shared.

"I should go, his hearing's almost over." She stood and than leaned over the desk kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you, Admiral."

He blushed slightly at the warmth on his cheek and smiled up at her. "Have a _good_ day, Kathryn."

* * *

Andrew felt a sickening know twist inside his stomach as he sat alone in the courtroom. It was massive, with statues set in large, carved out alcoves. Flags representing hundreds of worlds hung in rows from the cathedral ceiling, jostled slightly from a hidden vent. He tried not to fidget. His counsel told him that nervous gestures would not help him. One by one, the Admirals presiding over the hearing filed in and took their seats. They took only a half hour to deliberate. He felt his lungs stop working as he stared at their expressionless faces. As he felt movement beside him from his counsel returning he managed to breathe again. He looked down at his pale hands, every inch of skin was pale.

"Andrew Starlin, please rise." The ranking member, Admiral Aarons spoke

Andrew did as he was told.

Something in the back of the room grabbed their attention. He looked up as they watched someone coming in and turned to see as well.

Kathryn Janeway, alone in a standard uniform, holding a data PADD was walking purposefully down the slight slope to the front of the massive room. She paused when she reached the counsel seating and tipped her head in question.

They exchanged glances and Aarons motioned her forward. "What can we do for you, Admiral Janeway?"

Kathryn smiled tightly as she rested her forearms on the high-topped marble proceedings bench and she slid the PADD to him. "I'd like to appeal to your good nature, Sirs."

He eyed her carefully before lifting the PADD and skimming over the reports of his service on the _Asteria _following the attack. "Regarding Mr. Starlin?"

"Aye, Sir."

"Proceed."

She slid her arms off the bench and took a step back, but keeping her voice low. "I am certain the Admirals of taken into account the duress placed on Mr. Starlin prior to succumbing to his involvement?"

"We are aware of it, yes. What are you wanting from this, Janeway?" His voice was sounding irritated.

"You're considering putting him on a detention colony for the rest of his life-"

"Treason is a serious crime, Kathryn!" On of the other Admiral's cut her off showing no ceremony or respect. "A lot of people died because of him."

"A lot of people died because Command rushed Admiral Paris into making abrupt decisions that cost lives." She countered.

The Admiral her stony glare was fixed on shrank back, but his scowl remained aimed at her.

"I read the final reports myself, and have seen the charges against him, you can't possibly expect me to go along with using lack of experience from a cadet as a scapegoat for these problems."

Aarons spoke again. "It's all been considered, Admiral Janeway." His voice was softer than the other. "I'm afraid the opinion of the court has not been changed, now, may I give it?"

She raised her voice a little bit so that it would be heard by all present. "Than, it will not hurt you to hear me out?"

He nodded. "Go ahead."

She raised an eyebrow as each admiral fell right into listening. "Think for a moment, put yourself in this situation. Your parents are dead, you've been left to raise your little sister, her sole guardian. You decide to enroll in the Academy, deciding a job in Starfleet would provide the best life for you and her. One morning you're rushing around trying desperately to make it to your first class starting at 0800 hours, you know you can't afford anymore penalty marks for tardiness. I've been denied the exact reports, the audio and his testimony, so let me speculate. She turned her head, fixing a sideways gaze at Andrew who was still standing. "Your console beeps, maybe you've only got half your shirt on, a sock is missing. You hurry to the console, pulling the shirt the rest of the way on, fully expecting it to be your least favorite professor demanding your three days late assignment. The screen lights up, it's not me… it's a Romulan. He tells you he has your sister and you laugh. Than he shows you her. She scared, her shirt is ripped, maybe she's bleeding. He tells you what to do, gives you orders." She could hardly bear to watch the tears falling down his cheeks and she turned her head back to the row of admirals. "They have Lyssa. They've beat her, and _raped _her, so you will do what they want you to. You have to, she's your whole world and she's only a child. To_ hell_ with Starfleet."

"Admiral Janeway, while I'm sure Mr. Starlin is content to have you on his side, we-"

"Let her finish." Admiral Aarons cut the other off.

She tipped her head in appreciation. "When he was on board the _Asteria_ he saw the direct result of his actions and he regretted them, even when he thought she was still alive. He realized the affect his simple assignment had on others. He saw the death, watched some of the execution style killings." She choked it out. She'd seen some of it too, and thanks to the Doctor was able to remember the detail. She shrugged it off and kept going. "He helped us retake her. Sirs, in my service as captain, I forgave and dismissed far, far worse."

"Brief recess." He mumbled under his breath. Aarons led the others out, Andrew's counsel following behind closely.

When they were alone Kathryn eased in beside Andrew. "I'm sorry I had to bring it all up I'm sure for not the first time through this hearing."

Andrew managed a smile as he sat down too. "It feels good to know that someone actually cares enough about me to come in here and try to help." He moved his fingers around, fidgeting a little bit. "You were right, about the call… I thought it was you."

She patted his shoulder and slid down in the seat, relaxing as they waited.

They remained silent as the short recess turned into several hours. Kathryn slipped out once, and returned with her favorite beverage, but not a word was said as she resumed her silent support of him.

Just when Andrew thought he couldn't sit still any longer, the old mahogany doors opened, the Admirals returning to the hall. He and Kathryn stood and waited for them to all sit.

The ranking admiral again motioned Kathryn up. "We've dismissed the counsel, there will be no further discussion as we've reached the unanimous ruling."

She returned to stand next to Andrew.

Aarons cleared his throat. "Andrew Victor Starlin, you're lucky to have such a powerful woman in your corner." He winked at Kathryn. "All formal charges have been dropped due to coercion, extreme duress and threats against the immediate family of the defendant. However, you have been denied hereby any future re-entry into the Academy and will not be permitted on any grounds or properties henceforth. This will be included in your civilian record as permanent and binding. Hearing adjourned."

Again the hall emptied.

Kathryn stood and walked, hand clasped behind her, beside a reflective Andrew. "Well, if it's any consolation I would have failed you, so would Tuvok."

He smiled. "Yeah, D-Average has that effect. I just feel like I've betrayed myself worst of all."

She put her arm over his shoulders. "Why?"

"I gave up everyone's safety, hurt everyone. And for what? They still killed her."

She continued their path out of the old hall and away from it's towering shadow towards Sand Diego city. A three block walk and they had reached a corner café that had a clear view of San Diego Bay through the line of buildings. Kathryn requested a particularly pungent blend of coffee for both of them and cringed as she watched him dump at least four tablespoons worth of sugar into it and a large splash of milk.

"Oh gag, ey Admiral?" He grinned, not being the only one who knew her coffee preferences.

She nodded and made yet another face as she pointed to an empty table on the cornerstone of the building. "_You_," She spoke as she sipped cautiously at the steaming liquid, "Need to let yourself off the hook. _You_ didn't kidnap her, _you_ didn't hurt her. And it's _not your fault_ that she's gone. You did what they told you to do, they took liberties with your cooperation that is a staple understanding of an enemy."

He sighed as she spoke, but continued to listen.

"One of the best ways to work through something so awful is to not abandon your principles completely, because they're not always going to keep their end of the bargain."

"Why did you defend me?" He bravely touched a linger bruise on her wrist, one the Doctor apparently missed.

Kathryn leaned forward, resting her arms on the table and sliding the mug to the left a little. "Because I've learned through the years that if you can help people you love, you do it. You worry about the cost later."

"Professor Tuvok would disagree strongly." He raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"Hmm, but apparently there's something to it, because you've been given a virtual pardon unanimously by five Admirals."

He pressed his lips together hard, thinking over this sudden logic.

"If it were up to me, I'd train you myself. They can't expect a raw cadet to hold it all together in the face of something like this. But, they're ruling is final."

He nodded. "Yeah, I'll take it. Significantly better than prison."

"Tom Paris would agree." Chakotay's voice echoed behind Kathryn.

She turned to see him and Justin coming up behind. "Hello Chakotay… _Justin_."

He grinned at her, someone finally broke her. "Kathryn."

She hugged Chakotay and shook Justin's hand as they joined the two on either side of her. "We've got a semi-full pardon for this one." She smiled.

"Oh?" Chakotay stared at her, not surprised she fought it, but surprised she did it for him.

"Yeah." She smiled definitively as she found her mug again.

Justin sighed. "Not so for Va'Ler. Turns out she's a Vulcan dissenter who's been studying Romulan culture for some time. She's been undercover here for quite a while. Someone pulled strings to get her in your class."

She shrugged. "We'll leave that for you _intelligent_ types to figure out."

"Staying out of it huh?" Justin tipped his head to the side.

"I had a long chat with Admiral Paris and …. Well, he knows better now."

They all laughed at that. Kathryn had a way with the stubborn admiral, she's the only one who'd ever been able to command _his _respect.

She smiled back at them and made a specific contact with Andrew. She'd formed a bond with him, understood him better for it. His forced leave of Starfleet would not stop her from being there for him and mentoring him.

* * *

Fin. Thanks everyone. A special thanks to memory-alpha for quick reference points (makes it easier to NOT have to reread _Mosaic_ in order to find particular points to reference).

And a thank you to Bosnian Trekker on YouTube. His video clips made double checking some facts faster than digging through my DVDs.


End file.
